Criminal Case (Jerusalem) 28759-05-15 State of Israel v. Eran Malka

Sentence (Defendant 2)

Introduction. 3

Summary of the facts of the amended indictment. 6

First indictment ('The Yair Biton Affair') 6

Fourth Indictment ('The Alon Hassan Affair') 9

Fourteenth Charge ('The Night Meeting Affair') 11

The Ottoman Settlement [Old Version] 1916

12-34-56-78 Chekhov v. State of Israel, P.D. 51 (2)Summary of the evidence and arguments regarding the sentence. 14

The accuser's arguments for punishment 14

Evidence and Fisher's Arguments for Punishment 22

Discussion and Decision. 40

The social values that were harmed by the commission of the offenses. 40

Applicable Sentencing Policy. 45

Circumstances related to the commission of the offenses 58

The appropriate punishment area . 66

External circumstances for the commission of the offenses -

Their impact on the location of the penalty inside and outside the compound . 67

Personal and Family Circumstances 67

Protection from Justice. 69

State Witness Agreement with Malka . 73

Completion of an investigation into favors promised to the queen orally  98

The 'dump' files. 101

Additional Defects in the Investigation, Safeguarding and Disclosure of Investigative Materials. 107

Prolongation of the process and legal torture 118

The indictment of the 'night meeting' -

Selective enforcement and contradictory claims on the part of the prosecution. 119

Days of Detention and Electronic Handcuffs. 137

Gap between the original indictment and the indictment in the plea bargain  139

Hostile public atmosphere 142

Sentencing the appropriate punishment 143

Conclusion. 145

Introduction

1. Defendant 2, Ronel Fischer (hereinafter: Fisher), was convicted on August 28, 2025, according to his confession as part of a plea bargain, in an amended indictment attributing to him the offense of attempted bribery, the offense of receiving assets obtained through a crime, and three offenses of obstruction of justice.

Copied from Nevo

2. The plea bargain did not include an agreement regarding the sentence. The arguments for punishment were heard on November 16, 2025, November 27, 2025, and December 7, 2025.  Now the time has come for the verdict.
3. The proceeding began with an undercover investigation that was opened in June 2014, and with the well-publicized arrest of Fischer, who was a well-known media personality and lawyer at the time, on July 3, 2014. About nine months after Fischer's release from detention, he was arrested again on April 29, 2015, together with two other suspects: Defendant 1, Eran Malka (hereinafter: Queen), State Committee A (hereinafter: State Witness).  A few days later, defendant 3, Ruth David (hereinafter: David), who previously served as the Tel Aviv District Attorney (criminal) and during the period relevant to the indictment worked as an attorney and Fisher's partner; and Defendant 4, Yair Biton (hereinafter: Bitton), who at the time of his arrest was a businessman and a well-known contractor.
4. The original indictment, which was filed against Fischer and the other defendants, included (after an amendment dated July 16, 2015) 15 different charges, including bribery, fraud, obstruction of justice, money laundering, taxes, and more. The core of the charges against Fischer was, in essence, a criminal and corrupt connection with Malka, who at the relevant time was an investigation officer in the Israel Police's National Unit for Combating Economic Crime.  It was alleged that as part of the criminal conspiracy, Malka passed on confidential information to Fischer regarding undercover investigations involving various people.  Fischer approached these people, informed them that an undercover investigation was underway in their case, and offered them assistance in doing so, in exchange for large sums of money, some of which were allegedly intended to bribe police officers connected to the investigation, in order to sabotage the investigations or the archive.

In addition, Malka and Fischer were charged with fraud and obstruction of justice, due to actions they carried out in order to thwart ongoing investigations, including an investigation directed against them, as well as various economic offenses relating to the profits they derived as a result of the offenses that are the subject of the indictment.

5. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the original indictment described one of the most serious public corruption scandals the country has ever known, and therefore – and in light of the identities of the defendants and other people involved whose names were linked – the affair attracted great public attention and received extensive coverage, beginning with the arrest of those involved, continuing with the filing of the indictment, as well as throughout the hearing of the case.
6. Due to the fact that Malka was a police officer and his role in the affair was very central, at least similar to that of Fischer, if not more, the affair was investigated by the Department for the Investigation of Police in the State Attorney's Office, and it was she who filed the indictment and initially conducted the proceedings in court; However, about three years after the indictment was filed, and in the midst of bringing the prosecution's evidence, the State Attorney transferred the management of the case to the Jerusalem District Attorney's Office (criminal).
7. At the end of the day, the state and Fischer reached a procedural settlement, in which the original indictment was amended and the state withdrew the vast majority of it, as far as Fischer was concerned; In its place, an amended indictment was filed, to which Fischer confessed, without sentencing consent.
8. I will say in advance, and I will expand later, that throughout the hearing of the case, it emerged that the affair was born in an investigation with many failures, omissions and deficiencies by the Department for the Investigation of Police, while refraining from documenting key investigative actions, including those related to the recruitment of state witnesses; material collected disappears; Witnesses were questioned improperly and more. The accompaniment of the case by the Department for the Investigation of Police before the court and the attorneys who represented the state in the proceeding was also characterized by malfunctions and deficiencies, including the concealment of significant investigative material from the defendants and the court, misleading the court regarding various issues, making it difficult to clarify the case, and more.

As a result of the manner in which the investigation was conducted and the missing and misleading facts provided by the Department for the Investigation of Police during the course of the management of the case, its investigation became protracted and complicated, and the court was required to spend a great deal of time on matters relating to the investigation material that the prosecution should have made available to the defense, a subject that filled and consumed many days of hearings.  Moreover, in this case, in an exceptional manner, various investigations were completed after the filing of the indictment and in the midst of the hearing of the evidence, near the end of the prosecution's case, due to additional deficiencies in the conduct of the Department for the Investigation of Police that continued to be discovered, and this matter also contributed greatly to the prolongation of the proceedings.

9. At the end of the day, after the prosecution's evidence was presented and the defense case began, the accuser came to an understanding and conclusion that the evidentiary basis for the vast majority of the indictment, which was mainly the statements of the state's witness, the State Committee A., was shaky, and that she would not be able to prove what was attributed to Fischer, and therefore the parties reached a procedural settlement.
10. In light of the scope and complexity of the case, and taking into account the nature of the issues that require a decision in order to sentence Fischer, I will require an extensive discussion, as detailed in the table of contents above.

I will preface the latter by noting that the conclusion of the extensive discussion, and the accumulation of the improper actions and omissions of the Department for the Investigation of Police, led me to deviate from the appropriate punishment range and to refrain from imposing a real prison sentence, due to Fischer's arguments for protection from justice that I saw as accepting.

11. Preliminary Note, which is within the realm of the obvious – except for Malka, who confessed and was convicted, and was sentenced to the main sentence of seven years in prison; With the exception of defendants 6-7 (Yosef and Aviv Nahmias), whose case ended in 2019 (with a plea bargain with defendant 6 and the dismissal of the charge against defendant 7), the case of the other defendants continues to be conducted, and the case in their case is at the stage of hearing the defense case. All the determinations in the sentence relate solely to Fischer, and the reference to the other people involved in the sentence is intended for the purpose of sentencing Fischer, and does not constitute a determination in relation to any of the other defendants.

Summary of the facts of the amended indictment

12. The amended indictment in which Fischer was convicted according to his confession as part of the plea bargain contains three charges. The offenses in which Fisher was charged and convicted of the three charges are:

The first indictment  ('The Yair Biton Affair') – receipt of assets obtained in a crime under  Section 411 of the Penal Law, 5737-1977 (hereinafter: the Penal Law or the Law); Obstruction  of justice under Section 244 of the Law.