Organized crime in Israel

Organized crime in Israel has developed since the advent of the state in 1948. It has come into the focus of public attention since the 1960s as a serious social problem, which was, in particular, related to robberies, thefts, and also an entire industry for the sale of stolen property and smuggling of those types of goods that were taxed heavily. As a rule, the rulers of this business were the descendants of immigrants from Muslim countries born in Israel ^[4] .

In April-June 1971, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz published a series of articles on the functioning methods and traditions of Israeli organized groups. The basis of these publications was data obtained from police sources, and a model of the functioning of the Italian-American mafia was chosen for comparison. Among its organizational features, the presence of a local “godfather” stood out, which controlled roofing and racketeering , transportation of goods, as well as the forced resolution of disputes and conflicts in the criminal environment. By analogy with the principles of " omert ", a violation of the unwritten rules of the Israeli criminal world could be punished by the murder of the "culprit." The killing could also result in punishment for disobeying your leader or entering into unauthorized contact with rival factions or the police. The rivalry between criminal groups for the possession of shadow markets often resulted in outbursts of violence. In addition, traces of corruption ties were discovered (see corruption in Israel ) between Israeli criminals and local politicians, officials and licensing bodies ^[4] .

In August 1972, the Haaretz newspaper published another series of reports on the development of a drug transportation network (usually hash and heroin ) from Turkey, Europe and the Far East. At the same time, there was an increase in crime related to the consumption of narcotic substances (mainly theft), the spread of racketeering and violence. In subsequent publications, the leaders of some criminal groups and their fields of activity were identified ^[4] .

In the course of this work, conscious attention was not paid to developing a clear definition of the concept of “organized crime” in order to avoid disputes on this topic. However, the main signs of this phenomenon were highlighted, such as rationality, organization, systematic violence, corruption and the desire to monopolize shadow markets ^[4] .

Another important aspect of organized crime in Israel was its connection with foreign and international criminals (mainly of European descent). Israeli criminals who left their homeland often formed criminal communities outside of Israel to organize drug trafficking, extortion, prostitution and gambling ^[4] . For example, in March 2009, an organized crime syndicate was opened in Tel Aviv that was involved in illegal trafficking in persons . For two years, this network transported more than 2,000 women from Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine (see trafficking in persons in Ukraine ) and several other states. Most victims were forced into prostitution in Israel and Cyprus through threats and violence. Somewhat later, they were also forced to work in the field of commercial sex in Belgium and the UK ^[5] .

Rosenstein's grouping

Zeev Rosenstein, born in a family of immigrants from Romania , from the beginning of the 1990s was considered by the police the most influential criminal authority in Israel. The specialization of his group was international drug trafficking, for which Rosenstein repeatedly sat in Israeli prisons. In June 2003, criminals detonated a bomb at the entrance to one of Tel Aviv's travel agencies. Rosenstein survived, but several passersby were injured. In December 2003, as a result of another assassination attempt on Rosenstein in Tel Aviv, three casual passers-by were killed. A bomb exploded at a currency exchange point that Rosenstein went into, as a result of which criminal authority and another 37 people were injured ^{[1] [6] [7]} .

After a series of assassination attempts, Rosenstein left for Italy, but was soon forced to return when he found out that his rivals were preparing an assassination attempt on his six children who remained in Tel Aviv. In November 2004, Rosenstein was arrested by Tel Aviv police at the request of the Los Angeles police, and in April 2005, Israeli authorities decided to extradite Rosenstein to the United States, where he was accused of organizing an underground network to distribute about 700 thousand ecstasy pills. In March 2006, at the request of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, Rosenstein was extradited to the United States, where he was sentenced to 12 years in prison for drug smuggling ^{[1] [8]} . In March 2007, Rosenstein’s cousin Ilan Hen-Hananiah was killed in Holon . In June 2007, as part of a prosecution deal, the Tel Aviv magistrate found Zeev Rosenstein guilty of preparing an assassination attempt on the brothers Nisim and Yaakov Alperonov. Rosenstein admitted that in 2001 he, together with three accomplices, planned the assassination of the Alperons, fearing that they would organize an attempt on his life ^{[9] [10]} .

In May 2015, police conducted a large-scale operation against organized crime, detaining about fifty active members of rival Israeli criminal gangs. The main objective of the operation was to stop the long-term war of the “kings" of the criminal world of the country Zeev Rosenstein, Yitzhak Abergil and Yosi Musali (about twenty arrested were suspected of involvement in attempts to kill Rosenstein) ^[1] .

Abergil Grouping

Brothers Yitzhak and Meir Abergil (Abergil or Abardzhil) as of 2005 led the most powerful crime syndicate in Israel, which specialized in the sale of drugs, weapons, racketeering, extortion and casino control. In July 2008, an accidental vacationer was killed on the beach in Bat Yam during an attempted assassination of criminal authorities, who controlled a small business of waste disposal under the wing of the Abergil group. In August 2008, the Abergill brothers and three of their assistants were arrested at the request of the US authorities (Yitzhak was suspected of involvement in the murder of a drug courier in the United States) ^{[2] [11]} .

In May 2015, during a police special operation, Yitzhak Abergil and his assistant Avi Rukhan were arrested, whom law enforcement officers suspected of the murder of a criminal authority, Mihi Ben Harush, who disappeared in 2005 ^[1] .

Musali Grouping

The Yosi Musali group originated in one of the most criminal areas of the country - in the Kfar Shali quarter of South Tel Aviv. Initially, she controlled underground casinos and hunted out debt collection, but, having gained strength, she decided to infiltrate the drug business. Having received a stiff rebuff from the Rosenstein syndicate, the Musali group began a war with a gang of authority Iehezkel Aslan. After a bloody reprisal against a competitor, Musali established control over the Ha-Tikva quarter, opened a restaurant there and even tried to become one of the co-owners of a private bank. Thanks to the agents introduced into the group, the police arrested Musali, charged him with murder, attempted murder, criminal conspiracy and racketeering ^[1] .

Grouping Abbot

A group of brothers Asi, Adam and Francois Abbutulei traded in racketeering, kidnapping, arson and breaking debts, and also controlled restaurants, clubs and floating casinos plying off the coast of the Red Sea. In 2002, in Prague , the authority of Felix Abbutl, the uncle of Asi and his brothers, was killed as a result of a criminal showdown. In May 2007, Asi Abbotbul and six of his assistants were arrested by the police on charges of leading a crime syndicate and involvement in contract killings. Adam Abbutbul was arrested for attempting to kill a relative of the main witness who testified in the murder case of Ranan Levy. In September 2007, in Netanya, killers wounded two Asya Abbutul's assistants. In June 2008, a well-known criminal lawyer, Yoram Haham, representing Asi Abbutul’s interests ^{[2] [12] [13],} died as a result of a car explosion in Tel Aviv.

In September 2008, killers opened fire in the industrial zone of Netanya , as a result of which injuries were gained by criminal authority Charlie Abbutbul, the group’s finance director and brother of the previously murdered Felix Abbutbul, and three bystanders. Shooting was conducted near the Bat Hakar restaurant, owned by Asi Abbutul. According to one version, the assassination attempt on Charlie Abbutbull was organized by the Abergil group. In the same September, weapons and a grenade were found near the house of Aviv Abbutbul, after which he was placed under house arrest ^{[2] [14] [15] [16]} .

In May 2015, Asi Abbutul, serving a 13-year sentence, and five of his accomplices were arrested on charges of two murders and two attempted murders ^[17] .

Mulner Grouping

The group of Amir Mulner traded cocaine from Latin America, racketeering, debt collection and contract killings, many of its members had previously received special training in the army. In January 2006, Mulner and two of his bodyguards were stabbed during a fight in the lobby of the Daniel Hotel in Herzliya , which broke out after Mulner met with another criminal boss, Jacob Alperon. In February 2006, border guards detained a car in the Arabian town of Bak Al-Gharbia, in which Mulner and three of his assistants transported components of an explosive device (Mulner had close ties with the local Karaj group).

In November 2006, Mulner was again arrested, this time for extorting money from a debtor in Azore . In November 2008, at an apartment in Ramat Gan, police arrested Mulner and several of his fighters. At the time of detention, several units of firearms were discovered in the apartment, including pistols with silencers. In October 2009, police were forced to release Mulner, who was in custody on charges of possession of illegal weapons and conspiracy to commit a crime. Soon Mulner went abroad, and in December 2013 the police arrested 11 members of his group ^{[2] [18] [19] [20] [3]} for illegal possession and possession of weapons.

Shirazi Group

The Rico Shirazi group, who had served a sentence for murder in his youth, was based in Netanya and hunted for racketeering, extortion, gambling, and real estate fraud. In August 2007, police arrested 10 members of the Shirazi group who were suspected of money laundering, extortion, seizing property of debtors, organizing illegal gambling, using fraudulent accounts and other offenses ^[21] .

Dumrani Group

The Shalom Dumrani (Domrani) group based in Ashkelon controlled southern Israel, trading in racketeering and robbery. In October 2013, a car was blown up in Ashkelon, in which there were two close Dumrani. One of them, who was responsible for the underground gambling business in the group, was killed, and the second was seriously wounded. The next day, police, fearing a criminal war, arrested eight members of the Dumrani gang. In early 2015, Shalom Dumrani released from prison and attempted to restore his group by increasing his influence on the criminal structures of southern Israel. In May 2015, six members of the Dumrani group ^{[22] [23] [24]} were detained on suspicion of attempting to break into a businessman’s house in Ashkelon.

Alperon Group

A group of brothers Yaakov, Nishim, Zalman, Musa and Arye Alperon (also at the top of the clan included Yaakov’s son Dror Alperon) hunted in Tel Aviv and the surrounding area with racketeering, extortion, theft and real estate operations. In May 2003, Alperon was arrested on suspicion of extortion and threats, was soon sentenced to 10 months in prison, and in January 2006 he unleashed a war with Amir Mulner’s group. In May 2006, a car wash belonging to Nisim Alperon was blown up in Ramat Gan . In August 2008, Zalman Alperon was detained, on whose farm near the town of Givat Shmuel the police discovered stolen items and military ammunition. In October 2008, in one of the shopping centers in Tiberias , Yaakov Alperon was detained for carrying knives. In November 2008, as a result of a car explosion in Tel Aviv, Yaakov Alperon, who was driving, died ^{[25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30]} .

Isakov's group

The group of criminal authorities Shumi Isakova united immigrants from Georgia and the North Caucasus, who hunted racketeering, robbery and murder in the Haifa district . In January 2010, Shumi Isakov was arrested in Kiryat Bialik on suspicion of assault and stabbing a victim ^{[31] [32]} .

Fly Grouping

In early 2009, the leader of a major Jerusalem group, Itszik Bar Mukha, was arrested ^[2] .

Tsatsuashvili Group

Yosef's (Soso) Tsatsuashvili’s group racketed Russian-speaking Israelis in Netanya and A-Sharon, his son’s Naum Schneiderman’s brigade in Tel Aviv, and his father’s brigade in southern Israel. In October 2007, Yosef Tsatsuashvili and his accomplice Alexander Yankelevich were arrested (Naum Schneiderman had previously been convicted) ^[33] .

Hamed's group

In May 2003, 23 members of a Nazareth criminal gang were arrested, who, through threats, violence and murder, took control of almost all areas of the criminal business, from underground casinos and brothels to arms and drugs trafficking. The core of the group was members of the Hamed family ^[34] .

Prison groups

Israeli prison groups are formed on ethnic, religious and country grounds. The largest groups are the communities of Israeli Arabs (Sunnis, including Bedouins, and Christians), Palestinians , Druze , religious Jews and secular Jews (the latter are divided into Sephardic , Bukhara Jews , Georgian Jews , Mountain Jews and "Russian Jews"), as well as illegal migrants from countries of Southeast and South Asia, Eastern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Conflicts of warring factions for control of prison blocks periodically spill over into armed clashes ^{[35] [36]} .

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  Hadarim

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  Damon

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  Ktsiot

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  Abu kabir

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  Ofer

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  Shita

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  Ayalon

• Gad J. Bensinger . Organized Crime in Israel: An Update (Part 1) , Crime and Justice International Magazine. Archived on November 9, 2011.
• Gad J. Bensinger . Organized Crime in Israel: An Update (Part 2) , Crime and Justice International Magazine. Archived August 11, 2011.
• Ethan Brown . e-commerce , New York Magazine (Jul 24, 2000), p. 3.
• Douglas Century . Holy Land Gangland , Tablet Magazine (August 3, 2009).
• Isabel Kershner . Shiva, Gangland Style, Behind Burly Guards and Security Cameras, The New York Times (November 20, 2008).
• Israel, a Promised land for Organized Crime? , WikiLeaks (May 15, 2009, released December 1, 2010).
• מנחם אמיר , היש פשע מאורגן בישראל , שערי משפט 2 (3), 2001, עמ '335—321.