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10 Most Famous Robberies in Israel

Since the early 1990s, there has been an increase in the rate of robberies in Israel.

Between 1994 and 2001, the rate of robberies increased from 14.0 to 30.6 cases per 100,000 population.

Organized crime is present in Israel. The major crime groups are the Abergils, the Abutbuls, the Alperons, the Dumranis, the Shirazis, the Amir Molnar and Zeev Rosenstein syndicates.

Crime in Israel is low. According to the Israel Police, the general crime rate dropped in 2020, while cyber crimes, domestic violence and sexual abuse incidents rose.

According to official data only about a quarter of the prisoners held in Israeli jails are Jews. 73%  of overall prisoners are non-Jewish security prisoners and criminal prisoners together.

 The number of Ethiopian-Israeli Jews minors imprisoned in Ofek Prison is approximately 20%, 27 out of 135 minor prisoners and 27 out of 65 Jewish prisoners in this prison.

As prison is the surest destination for robbers let’s go through 10 famous robberies in Israel.

1. Payroll Heist by Irgun  1946- 35,000 Palestinian Pounds

Photo by Drew Jacksich –

Masuri was born in Yemen in 1926 and was 6 when his family immigrated to Palestine and settled in Hadera鈥檚 Nahliel neighbourhood.

He joined the Revisionist Zionist movement Beitar and enlisted in the Irgun, the underground militia led by Menachem Begin and also known by its Hebrew acronym Etzel.

 His first big mission, in 1945,  was sabotaging British telegraph poles. He was also chosen to rob a payroll train.

On the night of January 11, 1946, Masuri and other members of the cell laid mines under the tracks and hid them under the gravel.

Masuri and his comrades rushed to board the derailed train the Irgun men overcame the British and took the money.

Seven women from the Irgun fighters who had been waiting nearby concealed the cash and smuggled it out of the train to a safe place.

The girls placed the money in nylon stockings tied around their bellies to look pregnant.

 Some of the cash was smuggled into Tel Aviv in an ambulance that purportedly was bringing women to a maternity ward. The rest was hidden in jugs readied in advance and collected a few days later.

Eitan Livni, the Irgun commander of operations who became a Likud Knesset member

The take was 35,000 Palestinian pounds which according to the Bank of Israel is equivalent to 1.2 million when adjusted for inflation.

 Apart from its economic significance the operation also had great symbolic value.

It put the Irgun alongside other national revolutionary organizations that stole money from their government adversaries, including the communists in Russia during the revolution and the Polish underground.

2.Avocado Bandit- $8,300

In May 2019, a 47-year-old resident of southern Israel successfully robbed banks using an avocado.

A resident of a Bedouin village near the southern metropolis entered a Postal Bank branch at the Big Beersheba shopping mall and handed the cashier a misspelt note demanding she hand over the cash at her counter.

He threatened to throw the grenade he was holding on sensing the cashier’s hesitation.

What he claimed was a grenade but later turned out to have been avocado he painted black. With NIS 16,000/ $4,450 cash he walked out of the bank.

3. Avocado Bandit 2.0- $3330

Photo by ManhattanProject –

Five days later, the same man walked into another branch of the Postal Bank at the Oren Center shopping area in the southern city and repeated his previous method.

He brandished a blackened avocado and threatened to blow up the place. He left the bank with another NIS 12,000 /$3,300 in cash.

Overhead security cameras provided few clues to the man鈥檚 identity as he took care in both robberies by wearing face-covering hats, sunglasses and an eye patch.

But police tracked cellphone locations during the times of the robberies and followed several leads before finding the suspect, who turned out to have a criminal record including once serving a three-year prison term for robbery.

4.The Polite Robber- $25,000

In 2015 鈥渢he polite bank robber,鈥� burst into the scene and struck at least eight times in central Israel.

The man was captured on security cameras entering several banks. He did not attempt to disguise himself.

 Generally, he clad in a baseball cap, jacket, T-shirt and lots of charm.

He approached the tellers and asks politely that they hand over money from their tills.

The robber was not armed but was apologetic. He has not been apprehended.

Evidently, the approach was effective. Police believe obtained some NIS 100,000/ $25,000  in his series of civilized thefts.

5. Ofnobank Robberies- $400,000

Photo by Pearson Scott Foresman-

Rony Leibovitz was an Israeli bank robber, nicknamed Ofnobank (a combination of the words “motorcycle” and “bank” in Hebrew). The Motorcycle Bandit.

He robbed 21 bank branches, mostly in the Tel Aviv area, by using a motorcycle to enter and escape banks, and then hiding the motorcycle in a truck that was prepared for that purpose in advance. 

The Israel Police investigators, searching for a runaway motorcycle and not a truck could never locate him. 

Between 1989 and 1990, Leibowitz robbed 21 bank branches, mostly in the Tel Aviv area, stealing around $400,000.

His first robbery was at the First International Bank branch in Herzliya Pituah on February 21, 1989.

On October 7, 1990, Leibowitz committed his last robbery at the Bank Hapoalim branch in Ramat Gan.  

Leibowitz admitted to all his bank robberies and cooperated fully with his police investigators. He returned all the robbed money. 

He became a folk hero “portrayed as part Robin Hood, part sex symbol. Although he would threaten the teller with a pistol, he never harmed anyone during his robberies, and would only fire a single shot into the air.

6.   鈥淏ig Brother 鈥� Robber

Big Brother Israel Show Final 2008 photo by Uri Chachick-

Zvi Portal participated in the fourth season of the Israeli version of the Big Brother show in 2012.

A former contestant on the reality TV show Big Brother was arrested for robbing a post office at gunpoint earlier this week and getting away with thousands of shekels.

Portal arrived at a post office in Rishon Lezion on Monday and threatened a teller at gunpoint and made off with several thousand shekels in cash.

7.  Old Man Mask Robber

Oji the Old Man photo by Rama –

In 2017 Police arrested a man in relation to seven robberies at banks, jewellery shops and currency exchange kiosks.

The Israeli man originally from the United States carried out a string of armed robberies during which he disguised with skin-like masks and gloves to hide his identity.

The robberies were carried out over a span of a few years in the Tel Aviv area and central region of the country.

Yehoshua Hankin Street in Holon after the owner of a currency exchange kiosk noticed the suspect observing the premises and became suspicious and called the police.

When confronted by cops, the suspect first pretended he could only speak English.

However, a search of his person uncovered an Israeli identity card as well as a pair of eyeglasses that matched those worn by the perpetrator of the various robberies earlier captured on security cameras.

A search in the man鈥檚 house yielded face masks and gloves designed to look like human skin and pistols.

8.  Police and Soldier Robber- $3,300

2 border police officers and an IDF soldier robbed several foreign workers.

The robbers took thousands of shekels in cash and personal items.

The 3 were convicted of a series of armed robberies in which they stole money, cell phones and other property from Eritrean and Chinese construction workers in 2014.

Off-duty border policemen Yosef Gadayev and Liron Foglef went on several occasions to Tel Aviv-area construction sites at night, pretending to carry out a routine check of migrants鈥� work permits.

The two then handcuffed the workers at gunpoint, using violence in some instances, and forced them to surrender their personal property.  IDF soldier Chen Amira joined them regularly.

In total, the three stole NIS 13,000 (about $3,300) and several cell phones

The border policemen planned their actions, exploited their position, uniform and weapons to illegally enter construction sites, demanding workers turn over their papers and property for inspection.

According to the State Prosecutor鈥檚 Office praised their conviction, saying Gadayev, Foglef and Amira had 鈥渉armed the most valuable asset of law enforcement 鈥� public trust in the police.鈥�

9.      Twin Robbers- Attempt

Photo by LeoX –

In December 2014, Two teens attempted to rob a bank possibly armed with M-16 rifles.

The two, aged 12 and 13, allegedly attempted to knock over a branch of Bank Leumi in the central Israeli city of Rishon Lezion.

They demanded money from one of the tellers but had to flee the scene empty-handed after the clerk managed to escape from her booth.

Inevitably, the boys were arrested at their homes and the firearms confiscated. Neither boy has a criminal record.

10. Hebron Heist- $270,000

In January 2013, 4 masked gunmen ambushed a vehicle in Hebron that was carrying over a million shekels ($270,000) and forced the driver to hand over the cash in a broad-daylight hijacking.

the vehicle ferrying money to a local bank belonged to the Palestinian trading group Unipal. As it passed through the Ras al-Jura neighbourhood the criminals struck.

They chased the car and then shot out its windows and tires forcing it to stop. The assailants then made the driver hand over the money before making their escape.

The cases highlighted that robbery might be an easy way to loads of cash but being has consequences.

The Israeli robbers vary from genius planners like Liebowitz the motorcycle gangster to teenagers perhaps inspired by some movie.

Interesting is how 2 former robbers are highly regarded by the populace. One eventually became a member of the Israel Knesset while Liebovitz is a folk hero paid to advertise high-end motorcycles.