The friends and family of a 21-year-old British-Israeli man killed in Tennessee are calling on the American and British governments to deliver justice and to investigate the homicide as an anti-Jewish hate crime.
Aviv Broek, who was born in Rehovot, Israel but working in the American city of Memphis, was killed on the 2300 block of Hernando Road in the early hours of November 22, police said.
Just after 1am, officers responded to a shooting at the block and Broek was pronounced dead at the scene. The investigation is ongoing, and no arrests have been made.
Police are not treating the homicide as a hate crime, but Broek’s friends and family believe his killing was motivated by anti-Israel hatred and calls to “globalise the intifada”.
“We are shocked and saddened at the murder of Aviv while he was in the United States. The police have so far provided us very little information we would like to have a civil rights investigation,” Broek’s family said in a statement.
“We have all heard calls to globalize the intifada and now we ask has this intifada come to Tennessee in America? Are Zionists safe in America?”
According to his family, Broek spent a lot of time in the UK and his father is British-Israeli.
According to unverified social media posts, Broek, who was working as a locksmith, was allegedly lured into travelling to a remote and abandoned building for a job, reportedly offered double payment to travel late at night.
On exiting his vehicle he was shot and robbed, and after two and a half hours, his Israeli roommate managed to track him and found his body at the scene.
His work tools and his Israeli passport were reportedly stolen, but his wallet and his British passport were found on his body.
“We are foreigners, Jews in a foreign land and we need answers and require assistance to demand justice for our son,” said the family, who said that “Jews are being hunted worldwide” in 2024.
They are calling for an FBI investigation and for the homicide to be treated as a hate crime.
Broek had been in the USA for about nine months and was planning to stay there a year in total, according to family friend Ronn Torossian.
He had lost a close friend at the Nova festival massacre on October 7, and “wanted some distance and thought the United States would be safe for him,” Torossian said.
“We are in shock,” he added.
He noted how the body of murdered Rabbi Zvi Kogan was found on Sunday in Abu Dhabi in what Israeli authorities say was an antisemitic crime.
“From the UAE to Amsterdam, Memphis to London, the intifada has been globalised. The family mourns Aviv and wants justice.”
He said Broek’s family had not heard anything from the British government. “What would the British government do if this was any other minority? Why the silence?”
Broek’s body was flown back to Israel and arrived earlier today. The funeral is scheduled for tomorrow.
The Foreign Office has been approached for comment.