A woman was arrested on Wednesday night on suspicion of stalking and harassing Israeli model Bar Refaeli, including by allegedly visiting her home and the homes of her family members.
The woman, a resident of Beersheba, has no criminal record but has a history of psychiatric problems, Hebrew-language media reported. She was brought before the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, where police requested to extend her remand by five days.
The court ruled, however, that the suspect, who has a three-year-old son, should instead be released to house arrest and undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Police appealed against the decision, and she remained in custody on Thursday.
A police representative told the court that the suspect’s behavior had gotten steadily worse in recent months, after she began messaging Refaeli on Instagram multiple times a day.
From there, things escalated, the police representative said, and the woman tracked down Refaeli’s address and the addresses of her family and visited their homes.
According to the Walla news site, the woman was questioned under caution by the police on November 2 and was subsequently released under restrictive conditions, which included a restraining order preventing her from approaching Refaeli and her family.
She violated that order, however, Walla said, and resumed sending threatening messages to Refaeli, including one in which she allegedly demanded that the model choose between her and her own husband.
On November 26, Refaeli filed a police complaint against the woman in which she said she feared for her life. Additional testimony was filed against the suspect by Refaeli’s husband and relatives.
The suspect was again questioned under caution and was arrested, with police determining that there was sufficient evidence for her immediate arrest.
At the hearing on Thursday, which was held behind closed doors, the suspect’s defense attorney, Adv. Adva Elav, of the Public Defender’s Office, argued that the police were only pursuing the case because it was about Bar Refaeli, and that the suspect was not a criminal but someone who needed psychological help.
“The suspect’s parents have already made an appointment with a psychiatrist,” Elav was cited as having told the court. “She has a three-year-old son waiting at home. We’re talking about a young woman struggling with mental illness and with no criminal record,” she said.
Judge Yael Anatot, who presided over the hearing, ruled that there was reasonable suspicion against the suspect and ordered her to be released to house arrest and to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. She also handed down a three-month restraining order barring her from being within a kilometer of Refaeli.
The police appealed against the ruling, hoping to extend her remand for another five days, and the suspect will remain in custody until a decision is made.
Refaeli is an internationally known model and celebrity, and one of the most recognizable Israelis on the world stage.
Her family is well known in Israel, and controversial. She and her mother were convicted in 2020 of tax evasion, in a case that also implicated her father-in-law.
The prolonged case, built around the celebrity model’s worldwide income and the family’s attempts to downplay her ties to Israel for tax purposes, damaged her well-crafted public image as an informal ambassador for the country.
Still, she remains a popular TV personality and pitch-woman whose image is common on highway billboards throughout the country.
Watch DocuNation Season 3: The Heart of Israel
when you join the ToI Community
In this season of DocuNation, you can stream six outstanding Israeli documentaries with English subtitles and then join a live online discussion with the filmmakers. The selected films show Israel beyond the conflict: a place of storytellers and musicians, of dreamers, makers, and communities rooted in meaning and trust.
When you watch DocuNation, you’re also supporting Israeli creators at a time when it’s increasingly difficult for them to share their work globally.
To learn more about DocuNation: The Heart of Israel, click here.
Support ToI and get DocuNation
Support ToI and get DocuNation
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You appreciate our journalism
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
You clearly find our careful reporting valuable, in a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.
Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically since October 7.
So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you’ll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;
n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,’script’,
‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);
fbq(‘init’, ‘272776440645465’);
fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);
