Rafi Refaeli
Photo: Shaul Golan
Israeli supermodel's father convicted of intimidation, but gets no jail time
Rafi Refaeli, father of Bar Refaeli, gets three months of suspended sentence after road rage incident in 2016 in which he swore at and threatened Hod HaSharon's then-deputy mayor Yoav Rosen; Refaeli intends to appeal sentence.
Rafi Refaeli,
the father of Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli, was convicted of intimidation on Sunday and given three months of suspended sentence, two-and-a-half years after threatening Hod HaSharon's then-deputy mayor Yoav Rozen.
Refaeli said he was surprised by the verdict and intended to appeal it.
The prosecution asked to the court to sentence Refaeli to six months in prison, to be served as community service, as well as give him suspended sentence and a fine.
Rafi Refaeli in court (Photo: Shaul Golan)
Refaeli's lawyer, meanwhile, pushed for "a punishment of non-conviction and signing a commitment to avoid such an offense (in the future)."
Judge Aviv Sharon said in his verdict that "Rafaeli was identified by an objective eye witness as the driver of the vehicle that threatened the complainant. Security footage from the scene shows a vehicle very similar to that owned by the defendant, a black sports Mercedes.
"Refaeli's cellphone location showed that at the relevant time he was close to the scene of the incident, and the alibi he provided has been rebutted. According to (eye witness) testimony, Refaeli swore at Rozen and threatened him( after) wildly driving his vehicle."
The incident in question took place in August 2016, when Refaeli confronted Rozen on the road in Hod HaSharon.
According to the indictment filed in June 2017, Refaeli "honked the horn loudly at the complainant … while standing at a red light. Then, the complainant drove too slowly for the defendant's liking, and later on the defendant even tried to overtake the complainant from the right.
"When the complainant began parking his vehicle, the defendant overtook him, stopped his vehicle next to that of the complainant, and threatened to harm him, saying 'whore, your daughter is a whore' three times, and later 'I will take you out,' all with the intention of scaring or mocking the complainant."
Rafi Refaeli in court with his lawyer (Photo: Shaul Golan)
Refaeli denied the charges and claimed he was at home with a TV crew at the time of the incident. He also claimed the Mercedes vehicle caught on security cameras did not belong to him.
During the trial, several witnesses testified they had seen Refaeli in the area. The TV reporter that Refaeli claims he was with at the family home said she did visit the family home a short while later, but was not there at the time of the incident itself.
This is not Refaeli's first entanglement with the law. In May 2017, the prosecution decided to close another criminal case against him. He was suspected of assaulting police officers responding to a noise complaint who arrived at his Hod HaSharon home.
In January 2019, the prosecution announced that Refaeli and his wife Tzipi were suspected of money laundering as part of an investigation into their daughter, model and presenter Bar Refaeli.
