Rishon LeZion Resident Sentenced for Harassing Family Court Judge
A Rishon LeZion resident received a suspended sentence and community service for harassing Family Court Judge Oved Elias with late-night calls and dozens of messages.
A Petah Tikva Magistrates' Court has sentenced a resident of Rishon LeZion to three months of suspended imprisonment and 80 hours of community service after she was convicted of two counts of harassing Family Court Judge Oved Elias, who presided over her legal proceedings.
According to the indictment, the defendant obtained the judge's personal mobile phone number. In June 2023, at 2:00 AM, she called him three times. Although the judge did not answer, she proceeded to send him 125 WhatsApp messages by 5:00 AM, stating that he had improperly handled her case and that his ruling was "despicable."
Judge Elias blocked her on WhatsApp and reported the incident to the Courts Administration, which contacted the defendant and explained that she must only communicate with the judge through official and accepted channels. Despite this warning, approximately a week and a half later, she sent the judge 13 SMS messages threatening to report him to the media.
Judge Erez Nuriely ruled in the sentencing:
«We must not take lightly the actions of a defendant who harassed a judge presiding over her case who ruled against her satisfaction. The defendant's actions undermine the foundations of the rule of law. The severity of the acts is magnified given the target of the offenses. The offenses were committed against a judge against the backdrop of his official role.»
At the same time, the judge imposed a lenient sentence, taking into account that the defendant confessed, took responsibility, had no prior criminal record, and that expert assessments indicated she committed the acts out of severe distress.
