Tzipi Refaeli, mother and agent of Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli, currently serving a 16-months sentence at the Neve Tirza women's prison, was diagnosed with coronavirus, Israeli media reported on Friday.
Refaeli was sentenced in July 2020 to 16-months in prison and a NIS 2.5m. fine, over tax-evasion offenses. According to a plea bargain reached with the State Attorney's Office, her daughter, Bar, was sentenced to community service, five days a week, at a center near Tel Aviv for people with physical disabilities.
Refaeli has recently asked to be released from prison due to her medical condition, and even filed a petition against the Prison Services, claiming that she is not receiving the proper medical care she requires.
Two other inmates at the Neve Tirza prison have also contracted the virus, the reports noted.
Refaeli's diagnosis comes in the midst of an unusually harsh debate over the vaccination of prisoners, which Public Security Minister Amir Ohana has been delaying for weeks, claiming that other groups should receive the vaccines first.
However, Ohana was met with quite the opposition, with many criticizing him and questioning his authority for giving such instructions, while noting the national importance in vaccinating prisoners as soon as possible.
On Thursday, a spokesperson for Health Minister Yuli Edelstein announced that prisoners would begin receiving coronavirus vaccines next week. The announcement was made following a letter written by President Reuven Rivlin, urging the ministry to reconsider its policy and noting the increased risk of prisoners contracting the virus, considering their crowded living conditions.
Ohana had claimed that his instruction of not vaccinating prisoners was coordinated with and accepted by Edelstein, a claim that Edelstein’s spokesman refuted by reiterating the health minister’s commitment to the professional committee that had recommended vaccinating prisoners, saying that Edelstein “made sure the decision would be in the hands of the Prioritization Committee alone and not in the hands of politicians, so that the decisions would be purely professional.”
Perhaps in an attempt to realign with the Health Ministry's directives and avoid further public criticism, Ohana instructed the Prison Services to vaccinate all prison guards and prison personnel before next week, in order to allow prisoners to start receiving the vaccines.
As for Friday afternoon, about 80% of all prison guards in Israel had received the vaccine, with 2,000 remaining individuals expected to receive it by the end of the day.
Greer Fay Cashman contributed to this report.