Two Tel Aviv District Prosecutors, Dia Ben Asa Zigelman and Meredit Shiban Perel, describe two criminal cases that stayed with them long after the verdicts because of the fear, secrecy and personal cost borne by the victims. One case involved an attempted murder of a teenage Arab man by relatives who discovered his sexual orientation. The other uncovered a sophisticated scheme in which a same-sex couple drugged, robbed and exploited dozens of men they met on Grindr.
Ben Asa Zigelman, who has worked in prosecution for nearly two decades, says the case from 2019 began as a brutal stabbing near a shelter for young LGBTQ people who had been forced from home. A car hit the boy, the driver got out and stabbed him repeatedly. He was hospitalized in critical condition, sedated and ventilated, and doctors told her only millimeters separated him from death. The attackers had used disposable phones, different cars and other steps to conceal their tracks. When the boy later woke up and could not speak, he wrote only one word on paper, the name of a family member, which redirected the investigation.
The family had found messages on his phone to men. According to the prosecutor, pressure, attempts to “fix” his sexuality, threats and violence followed, and he fled to a protected facility. Even after the attack, relatives visited him in hospital and he became an unfriendly witness in court after being pressured to retract his statements. The main assailant was convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison. Ben Asa Zigelman says she still keeps in touch with him and is relieved when she sees his name on a screen.
The second case, opened in 2022, expanded from six complainants to 24 indictments and dozens of victims. The defendants, Shachar Abu Ella and Avitar Ben Avi, used fake Grindr profiles to arrange sexual meetings with men across Israel, then drugged them with high doses of GBL, known as a date-rape drug, robbed them of cash, cards, phones and other property, and in some cases emptied bank accounts. Prosecutors say the harm went far beyond theft: victims lost trust, feared bringing people into their homes, and did not know what had happened while unconscious.
Some were closeted, married or religious and feared exposure. In one case the suspects filmed an unconscious nude victim and sent the image to a friend, and in another they threatened to out a married complainant if he went to police. A Ramat Gan resident who woke up suspiciously called police the same morning, and forensic experts found GBL residues in two glasses at his home, a key piece of evidence. After victims warned each other on social media, investigators identified 23 complainants willing to testify. Both defendants later admitted the charges in plea bargains, with Abu Ella sentenced to nine years and fined 100,000 shekels, and Ben Avi sentenced to 52 months and fined 30,000 shekels.
