Shots were fired last night at the car of Emblaze Ltd. (LSE: BLZ) chairman Eli Reifman. He was in the car, which was parked at the company's offices in Ra'anana at the time. There were no casualties in the incident, but the car was damaged.
It appears that a motorcycle was driven to the site, the passenger dismounted, ran to Reifman's car, and fired two shots from his pistol at it. The shots hit the car's seat.
Reifman apparently spotted the motorcyclists. The motorcyclists fled the scene when building's guard heard the shots and ran out of the building. The police were called to the scene, and the launched a search and an investigation. Sources close to Reifman said that he was unharmed and in good health.
Last Thursday night a Molotov cocktail was reportedly thrown at Reifman's car.
After yesterday's incident, Reifman said, "The incidents of the past few days will not prevent me from going to court and complying with the court order."
Reifman's attorney, Adv. Shlomo Turgeman told “IDF Radio" (Galei Zahal) this morning, "Eli is safe. He had a tough night. We're on our way to the Supreme Court. I know that there is a gag order, but it is known that he was driving away from Emblaze's offices when two motorcyclists fired in his direction with the goal of killing him because his seat was hit.
"The story is not short; it's rather complicated. Eli has been trying for three years to protect his company from a takeover. He is trying to sell and implement the court order; he wants the court order dismissed."
Reifman owes NIS 250 million. The police do not think that the shooting was an attempt to kill Reifman, but an act of intimidation, a warning, or a hint of what could happen to him.
Today, the court will decide whether to send Reifman to jail for contempt of court. Judge Hanan Meltzer deferred the decision on the matter because of court constraints, without elaborating. It should be noted that decisions of this kind are sometimes made, and they provide no hint as to the final decision.
Last week, Reifman appealed to the Supreme Court against the decision by Tel Aviv District Court Judge Varda Alshech to sentence him to 45 days in jail for contempt of court if he did not hand over his Emblaze shares to the company’s special administrator, Adv. Eitan Erez, within 24 hours.
Next month, Reifman's creditors will meet at the offices of the chief receiver.
At a press conference after Alshech's decision, Reifman said that he feared for his life.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 21, 2009
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