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‘Explode Everything’: Jordanian Charged for Threats to Bomb US Businesses Perceived to Support Israel
An American flag waves outside the US Department of Justice Building in Washington, DC. Photo: Al Drago via Reuters Connect
US law enforcement officials have arrested and charged a Jordanian national who allegedly attacked an energy facility and threatened to bomb businesses that he deemed supportive of Israel, the Justice Department announced on Thursday.
According to federal prosecutors, the alleged crimes of Hashem Younis Hashem Hnaihen, 43, began earlier this summer, with his vandalizing small businesses in Orange County, Florida, and leaving “Warning Letters” addressed to the US government in which he vowed to “destroy or explode everything here in America. Especially the companies and factories that support the racist state of Israel.”
As other anti-Israel agitators have done, Hnaihen concealed his face with a mask, which complicated efforts to identify him.
In late June, according to the Justice Department, Hnaihen breached an energy facility in Wedgefield, Florida, where he “smashed” scores of solar panels and damaged other “electronic equipment.” The spree of infrastructure sabotage lasted “for hours,” the department added, destroying $700,000 worth of technology. In his last alleged act, in early July, Hnaihen left a final warning letter at an industrial propane gas distribution depot located in the city of Orlando. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department arrested him on July 11.
“We allege that the defendant threatened to carry out hate-fueled mass violence in our country, motivated in part by a desire to target businesses for their perceived support of Israel,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement on Thursday. “Such acts and threats of violence, whether they are targeting the places that Americans frequent every day or our country’s critical infrastructure, are extremely dangerous and will not be tolerated by the Justice Department.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray added,” Violence and destruction of property to threaten and intimidate others will never be tolerated. The FBI and our partners will work together to pursue and hold accountable those who resort to violence.”
Hnaihen faces five charges, four related to his threatening letters and one for wreaking havoc on the energy facility, crimes for which he may, if convicted, spend the rest of his natural life in prison. His “Warning Letters” alone, each of which carries 10-year maximum sentences, would keep him behind bars for 40 years, at which time he will be an octogenarian. His fifth charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
The 43 year old is not the first person whose alleged anti-Israel or anti-Jewish actions prompted the involvement of the federal government.
On Monday, the Justice Department announced that former Cornell University student Patrick Dai, who threatened to perpetrate heinous crimes against members of the school’s Jewish community after Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison.
Last October, Dai raised the possibility of antisemitic violence at Cornell when he posted several statements calling for murdering Jews and raping Jewish women on a popular social media forum. In addition to threatening the lives of Cornell’s 3,500 Jewish students, who are 22 percent of the school’s student population, the posts threatened an attack on a campus kosher dining hall — named 104West — affiliated with the Steven K. And Winifred A. Grinspoon Hillel Center.
“Gonna shoot up 104 west… Allahu akbar! from the river to the sea, palestine will be free! glory to hamas! liberation by any means necessary!” one of his posts said. Another read, “If I see a pig male jew i will stab you and slit your throat. if i see another pig female jew i will drag you away and rape you and throw you off a cliff. if i see another pig baby jew i will behead you in front of your parents [sic].”
The Justice Department said Dai also vowed to “bring an assault rifle to campus and shoot all you pig Jews.”
“The defendant’s threats terrorized the Cornell campus community for days and shattered the community’s sense of safety,” Carla Freedman, US attorney for the Northern District of New York, said in a statement on Monday. “My office will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute threats and acts of violence motivated by antisemitism and hatred of any kind.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Why the Houthis Think They Can Beat the US — And Why They’re Wrong
Protesters, mainly Houthi supporters, stand near a screen displaying senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya during a rally to show support to Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in Sanaa, Yemen, Oct. 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
The Houthi rebels have spent years crafting an image of themselves as a hardened, battle-tested force capable of standing up to the most powerful militaries in the region. Now, in the midst of heightened tensions in the Red Sea and ongoing attacks on commercial shipping, they’ve extended that illusion to the United States. Emboldened by years of asymmetric victories against Saudi Arabia, bolstered by Iranian weaponry, and legitimized by propaganda that casts them as the spearhead of a broader “resistance” movement, the Houthis have convinced themselves — and their supporters — that they are capable of not just resisting US military pressure, but prevailing against it.
This belief is a dangerous miscalculation.
Their confidence stems, in part, from real battlefield experience. For nearly a decade, the Houthis have survived and even thrived despite relentless airstrikes, economic blockades, and shifting coalitions aligned against them. Saudi Arabia, with its modern air force and US-supplied munitions, failed to achieve decisive victory, and the perception within Houthi circles is that American power will be no more effective. Their propaganda machine amplifies every moment of defiance — a ship that reroutes, a drone that gets through, a Western strike that doesn’t dismantle their network — and translates it into a narrative of victory. To them, every surviving radar station is proof that the empire can bleed.
But the United States is not Saudi Arabia. The comparison reflects not just poor military judgment, but a profound misunderstanding of American strategic capacity and intent. Unlike regional actors, the US is not burdened by the political minefields of sectarian loyalties, tribal politics, or proximity. It can strike from the Mediterranean, the Gulf of Aden, or from submarines under the Red Sea. It does not need to occupy territory to destroy critical infrastructure. And when Washington decides that a threat must be neutralized, it tends to play a long game — using precision, partnerships, and pressure points until that threat is either dismantled or buried under economic and military consequences.
The Houthis lack the strategic depth to survive this kind of prolonged targeting. They are not a state with layered defenses, they are a militia with a territory — and that territory, while difficult to fully conquer, is not indestructible. Their command centers, storage depots, and drone assembly lines can only be relocated so many times. A concentrated American campaign, especially if paired with increased maritime interdiction and regional intelligence sharing, would gradually degrade the very tools that have made Houthi escalation possible. Their coastal control gives them influence over shipping routes, but also makes them highly visible. Their reliance on external supply chains — from Iran through smuggling routes and covert logistics — exposes them to disruption and surveillance. The longer they play this game, the more they risk pulling the US into a sustained campaign that their organization is not structurally prepared to endure.
Yet the illusion persists — and may even intensify. Faced with growing losses, the Houthis are likely to lean further into psychological warfare. Propaganda will surge. They will publish shaky videos of “downed” drones, stage missile launches, and portray every Western casualty, real or fabricated, as a blow against imperialism. Their goal is not battlefield victory but narrative control. If they can’t defeat the US militarily, they’ll try to erode its political will through a war of images, slogans, and social media virality. In doing so, they hope to sway anti-interventionist voices in the West and rally populist support across the Arab world.
Meanwhile, Iran will tighten its grip. The deeper the Houthis get, the more reliant they become on Tehran’s support — not just for weapons, but for expertise. We may see the quiet transfer of more sophisticated drone systems, longer-range missiles, and even the arrival of Iranian advisers on the ground to coordinate more complex attacks. Tehran has every interest in keeping US forces tied up in Yemen and distracted from other fronts like Syria or the Gulf. But that support will come at a cost: it will make the Houthis more vulnerable to becoming a direct target of Western-Iranian proxy escalation.
All of this is moving toward a dangerous inflection point. The Houthis are pushing the boundaries of what they can get away with — harassing ships in a key global chokepoint, attacking US assets, and daring the world’s most powerful navy to respond. Eventually, that response will escalate in ways they cannot control. A more aggressive US posture, especially in coordination with allies like the UK and France, could impose a maritime siege, take out port infrastructure, or even strike symbolic leadership targets. If the Houthis attempt to retaliate by mining the Bab el-Mandeb Strait or attacking Western vessels more directly, they may trigger a regional conflagration that leaves northern Yemen not as a “liberated” zone but a ruin.
This is why the illusion matters. The Houthis are not just overestimating their strength — they are gambling with the future of their movement and the lives of millions under their control. Their strategic calculus is shaped more by ideology and self-delusion than by sober assessments of military reality. The longer they cling to this fantasy of victory, the closer they come to waking up to its catastrophic consequences.
Amine Ayoub, a fellow at the Middle East Forum, is a policy analyst and writer based in Morocco. Follow him on X: @amineayoubx
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Finding Our Jewish Pride: The Star of David Effect
Edith Bruck, in white, attends the unveiling event for the mural “The Star of David” by contemporary artist aleXsandro Palombo at the Fondazione Museo della Shoah in Rome, Italy on April 7, 2025. Photo: Ariel Nacamulli
In the aftermath of October 7, Jewish people around the world have experienced a deep recalibration — fear and shock has been replaced by anger, resilience, and pride. This has led to a reassessment of identity and a recognition of purpose. This awakening has taken on many forms, in the realm of advocacy campaigns, coordinated social media efforts, rallies and protests, letter-writing initiatives, WhatsApp group activism, and countless grassroots political movements.
Jewish visibility is increasing in other ways, too. One particularly striking yet underappreciated phenomenon is what I’d call the “Star of David Effect.” This refers to the growing number of Jewish individuals — particularly younger Jews — who are visibly and deliberately wearing Magen David’s or Chai necklaces in public. What in the past may have been a rare quiet personal expression of faith has now become a visible symbol of resistance and pride.
It has become a rather frequent occurrence within certain sectors of the Jewish community, where young people are outwardly displaying these necklaces and it speaks to a desire to fight back in their own way. This a proactive way to take a level of control back from the onslaught of incoming negativity that people have been exposed to. It’s these people’s way of saying, “yes I’m here, yes I’m Jewish, and what?”
This may seem like a small gesture, but in reality, it’s a powerful statement. It is a reassuring demonstration by the younger generations of their pride in who they are. It reflects a generation beginning to see their Jewish identity not as incidental, but as essential. In an era where Jewish people have been forced to confront an ancient hatred in a modern context, the Star of David has transformed into both armor and resistance.
In recent discussions with Rabbi Jonathan Blake, the senior rabbi at Westchester Reform Temple in New York, he described how pre-Oct. 7, he had concerns about teaching the lessons of the Holocaust to younger generations. He expressed that the passage of time and the fading presence of survivors, coupled with the Shoah being too distant to be relatable to current generations, presented a challenge.
Rabbi Blake noted that October 7 has created a kind of unfortunate, but undeniable, educational opening. “For the first time in their lives,” he told me, “these students understand what it feels like to be targeted simply for being Jewish. It’s terrifying — but also awakening something in them.”
The “Star of David Effect” is becoming a fashion statement that is a symbol of power. As the piece of jewelry sits around someone’s neck, there is a certain strength it embodies and a type of coolness that it conjures up. Whether it’s the young man wearing a Magen David in the university cafeteria or the woman with a Chai pendant on the subway, they are all part of something larger. They are, in their own way, demonstrating bravery and making a statement, and it is worth recognizing.
Every generation questions whether the next generation has what it takes to carry the torch of survival. Certainly, the young Jewish people of Israel have proven they have what it takes, and it is not wrong to assess that this generation of American Jewry are showing their resolve by donning there Magen Davids and their Chais. In doing so, they echo the power of generations before them — it would not be out of place to give these young people a pat on the back and let them know that their demonstration of pride is cool and deserves our respect.
Daniel Rosen has been a recognized opinion leader since his early college days, when he co-founded Torchpac, a pro-Israel advocacy group at New York University. Daniel is currently the chairman and co-founder of the pro-Israel group, Minds and Hearts.
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Mike Huckabee Presents Credentials to Israel’s President, Begins Duties as US Ambassador
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee looks on during the day he visits the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
US Ambassador Mike Huckabee on Monday presented his credentials to Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem, officially beginning his time as the Trump administration’s chief diplomatic representative in Israel.
Huckabee, a Baptist minister and the former governor of Arkansas, described the opportunity to become the official US ambassador to Israel as “an honor and incredible joy.”
“Over 50 years ago I came to Israel for the first time,” he said. “I was amazed to be standing in the land of the Bible. Now I come back as an old man, but with a sense of joy and awe that I am in the land that God said, ‘This is mine and these are my people.’ I came here because I believe that this not just geopolitical, because I also love to see it through the eyes of people who come here for the first time.”
During his remarks at the Israeli presidential residence, Huckabee warned that Iran seeks to destroy not only Israel but also the United States.
“It has always been their desire that Israel would be the opening act and then it would be America’s turn to face destruction,” Huckabee said. “Or, to put it another simple way, Israel is the appetizer, and the United States is the entrée.”
Huckabee’s comments came on the heels of the Trump administration’s second round of discussions with Iran over the weekend regarding the regime’s nuclear program. The Trump administration has stated that it aims to dismantle the Iranian program, sharing the view of other Western states that Iran seeks to build nuclear weapons. Tehran claims its nuclear activities are only for civilian energy use.
Huckabee lauded his new position as “divine” and vowed “to stand with the people of Israel for peace and prosperity.”
Herzog showered praise on Huckabee, calling the American official “a shining reflection of [US President Donald Trump’s] love, friendship, and support for the State of Israel.”
The newly minted ambassador arrived in Israel last week, visiting the Western Wall on Friday. Huckabee placed his hand on the holy Jewish site, lowered his head in prayer, and then inserted a slip of paper containing a prayer into the wall.
Huckabee said the prayer, which was delivered on behalf of Trump, read, “For peace in Israel.”
“What an honor it is for me to come on behalf of the president of the United States, President Donald Trump, and to present a prayer that he handwrote, gave to me last Thursday at the White House, with the instruction that my first act as ambassador would be to take his prayer — praying for the peace of Jerusalem — and to bring it to the wall, and to pray that there would in fact be, peace in the land,” Huckabee said.
The US Senate earlier this month voted to confirm Huckabee as the new ambassador to Israel, placing a strong pro-Israel conservative in the prominent position.
The Senate voted 53 to 46 in favor of Huckabee, with all Democrats except Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman voting against him. Every Republican voted to confirm Huckabee.
Huckabee, an evangelical Christian, has long been a stalwart ally of the Jewish state. He has repudiated the anti-Israel protests that erupted in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel and criticized former US President Joe Biden for sympathizing with anti-Israel protesters during his speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC). The incoming ambassador also lambasted the anti-Israel encampments at elite universities, stating that there should be “outrage” over the targeting and mistreatment of Jewish college students.
Huckabee has defended Israel’s right to build settlements in the West Bank, acknowledging the Jewish people’s ties to the land dating back to the ancient world. He has also vowed to refer to the West Bank as “Judea and Samaria,” adopting terminology preferred by Israel.
“There is no such thing as the West Bank — it’s Judea and Samaria,” Huckabee has said, referring to the biblical names for the area. “There is no such thing as settlements — they’re communities, they’re neighborhoods, they’re cities. There is no such thing as an occupation.”
During Huckabee’s 2008 US presidential campaign, he stated that “there’s really no such thing as a Palestinian,” and that land for a potential Palestinian state should be taken from other Arab states and not Israel.
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