Highlights
− Escalation of organized crime-related violence in Israeli cities
− Israel most successful at policing its mafia via international partnerships
− External Israeli conflicts will take precedence over domestic criminal concerns
− Israeli organized crime will entrench and mob-linked violence will increase in the mid-term
Israeli organized crime rings are linked to the same criminal activities as their international peers: money laundering, human and drug trafficking, extortion rackets, loan sharking, and illegal gambling. The threat organized crime posed to the Israeli state was largely masked—and as a result given room to flourish—by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and international war on terrorism. However, in 2008 Israeli officials began to take note of the marked increase in mafia violence.
The Israeli mafia is comprised of six primary families, the majority of which are Jewish-Russian immigrants. The alliance of the Abergil and Alperon families against the Rosensteins and Abutbul families for control of the Israeli underground is largely responsible to the recent upswing in mob-related violence. Specifically, the July 11, 2008 car bomb assassination of Yoram Haham, the lead council to Israeli mafia boss Asi Abutbul, was a turning point in the criminal underground war. The five months that followed witnessed several drivers for both criminal and government action.
− In November 19, 2008, Ramle Central Police Unit targeted by failed bomb attack, which occurred while senior police officials discussed their response to Ya’akov Alperon assassination in Tel Aviv
− In November 18, 2008, a car bomb killed mobster Yaakov Alperon in Tel Aviv
− In September 12, 2008, gunmen on motorcycles attempted to slay mob figure Yotam Cohen in Netanya
− In September 8, 2008, gunmen wounded Charlie Abutbul and three bystanders in a failed assassination attempt in Netanya
− In July 28, 2008, a bystander was killed in a failed assassination in Bat Yam (south of Tel Aviv), ordered by crime boss Yizhak Abergil and his brother Meir
Responding to the escalation in violence, the Israeli government cracked down on drug smuggling rings and sought to enhance law enforcement capabilities. Most notably, on November 25, 2008, a joint Israel-Peru investigation led to the seizure of 1.5 tons (US$500 million) of cocaine. Also in November, the Israeli government announced its first witness protection program will be launched at the end of December 2008 and will be guarding its first 20 witnesses in January 2009.
In the near to mid-term, however, the Israeli government will prove largely incapable of diverting resources from its anti-terrorism efforts to combat organized crime. As a result, organized crime and mob-related violence is expected to continue unabated.
International Linkages
Not just an Israeli affair, Israeli mafia hides behind legitimate cover businesses in Israel and conducts its illegal operations abroad to avert prosecution in Israeli courts. For instance, the Israeli mafia alliance known as the “Jerusalem Network” is linked to heroin and ecstasy trafficking rings in Miami, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The mafia’s narcotics are supplied by Latin America producers and trafficked through Morocco and Spain to American and European buyers. In Los Angeles, the Jerusalem Network, led by former Israeli mafia boss Itzhak Abergil, teamed up with the Vineland Boyz gang to traffic ecstasy. Likewise in Miami, the mafia focused on drug trafficking. In Las Vegas, however, the Israeli mafia took advantage of the waning influence of the Italian mafia to build extortion rings, illegal gambling rackets and run prostitutes, as well as traffic ecstasy and heroin.
Despite the success of many organized crime operations, Israeli-US police cooperation has produced two large-scale busts in the past three years. In 2008, Yitzhak Abergil was extradited to the US for indictment in trafficking ecstasy and planning the killing of an Israeli drug dealer accused of stealing. Abergil was arrested in connection with the July 28, 2008 killing of an bystander during an assassination attempt. Lacking sufficient evidence for a conviction, however, the Israeli government opted to extradite Abergil to the US. Additionally, in 2006, Zeev Rosenstein was extradited to the US and convicted in a Miami, Florida courthouse for distribution of ecstasy. He is currently serving a 12-year sentence in Israel. Regardless of successful police efforts, we anticipate the Israeli mafia will continue to expand its international operations in the mid-term.
Outlook: Policing Israeli Organized Crime
Largely unsuccessful at prosecuting members of the Israeli mafia at home, the Israeli government has proven most successful at policing its mafia through collaborating with foreign police forces. Israeli officials blame the police’s inability to build cases against members of the mafia on the enhanced influence of mob families, the mafia’s preference for international crime and the absence of an Israeli witness protection program. We expect Israel’s institution of a witness protection program in January 2009 to improve Israel’s efforts at prosecuting mafia barons at home. Additionally, we expect Israel to continue working with the US, Thailand, Peru and other Latin American to prosecute mafia members abroad.
The Israeli government recognizes it must multiply its efforts to combat the rise of organized crime in Israel. With a government report indicating that organized crime costs the government NIS 13 billion in 2007 and street violence increasing unabated, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert acknowledged the police do not have the necessary means at their disposal to combat crime. However, despite the government’s commitment to defeating organized crime, the war on terror and policing hostile settler activities in the West Bank will take precedence catching mafia members. As a result, in the mid-term Israeli organized crime will continue to expand its reach into Israeli society. Further, we expect Mafia-related street violence will escalate and the mob’s political influence will expand in most major Israeli cities.
