Repudiation of a probate decree in Net HaMishpat, forgery and fraudulent land title transfer, and related criminal court records
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22091105
Welcome Statement and Biosketch, Joseph Zernik, PhD, LLB
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21777379
Non-repudiation is a central and essential feature of electronic signatures. It entails the ability to attribute an electronic signature to a unique, highly credible signer, and the to establish evidentiary difficulty for by a signer who denies signing. Non-repudiation makes electronic signatures uniquely effective in law and business.
A case of repudiation of an electronic signature, as seen here, in re: October 24, 2019, Repudiation of the late Frederic Ehrlich probate order by Magistrate Judge Shira Chani, indicates a deficient or invalid system.
Hebrew original
Image 1 | The late Frederic Ehrlich’s October 24, 2019, Probate Order in Estate File 1525-02-19 in the Rishon Family Court, which was later repudiated by Magistrate Judge Shira Chani. Ehrlich was an Australian citizen, who lived in Australia and owned property in Israel.
English Translation
State of Israel
Family Court at Rishon LeZion
File No.: 1525-02-19
Date: October 24, 2019
PROBATE ORDER
In the matter of the estate of the late Frederic Ehrlich, holder of Australian Passport No. K1184401, who passed away in Australia on October 16, 2018, last place of residence: Australia.
I hereby declare that the will of the deceased dated June 4, 2017, attached hereto, is valid and legally binding.
No estate administrator was appointed.
Given today, Thursday, 25 Tishrei 5780, October 24, 2019.
(Signed)
Shira Chani, Judge
(Stamp at bottom left: Certification / True Copy – Chief Clerk, November 3, 2019;
Center and right – Seal of the Court)
Image 1 | The late Frederic Ehrlich’s October 24, 2019, Probate Order in Estate File 1525-02-19 in the Rishon Family Court, which was later repudiated by Magistrate Judge Shira Chani.
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Date |
Record |
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Records received from Avraham Ehrlich |
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2019-10-24 |
The late Frederic Ehrlich’s probate order in Estate File 1525-02-19 in the Rishon Family Court, which was repudiated by Magistrate Judge Shira Chani. |
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2020-09-13 |
Frederic Ehrlich’s son and lawful heir, Avraham Ehrlich’s letter to Judge Shira Chani and her repudiation order, entered under court file 28098-08-20 |
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2024-04-14 |
Avraham Ehrlich’s letter to Judge Shira Chani asking her help in expediting the police investigation, and Her response in a post-it decision, entered in court file 28098-08-20 |
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2025-09-03 |
Defendant Lavi’s Plea Bargain in which a light sentence was promised – 9 months of public service works |
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Public records from Crim 66013-07-24 in the Tel-Aviv District Court |
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2025-03-09 |
State of Israel v Lavi in the Tel Aviv District Court – Conviction record, which was downloaded from Net HaMishpat |
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The perpetrator forged the late Frederic Ehrlich’s will, then filed it in the Rishon Family Court and obtained a probate order. Using the electronically signed probate order, he managed to have land titles transferred to his name at the Land Registration Bureau.
Hebrew original
Image 2 | Frederic Ehrlich’s son and lawful heir, Avraham Ehrlich’s August 6, 2020, request to void the forged probate order issued by the Rishon Family Court, and Judge Shira Chani August 13, 2020, repudiation order, entered under court file 28098-08-20.
...
English Translation
Court File No.: 28098-08-20 (Cross-referenced with Estate File: 1525-02-19)
Family Court at Rishon LeZion
Date: August 6, 2020
Applicant: Avraham Ehrlich; ID: 302111423; Address: 35 Harlap St., Jerusalem
Request to void the probate order issued by the Rishon Family Court, which was a proven case of forgery
Details of the Motion:
The probate order issued in this court file is a case of forgery.
I am the sole heir in the September 17, 2017, will, which was certified on July 20, 2020, in 12834-01-20 at the Jerusalem Family Court.
Probate Order is attached.
The Rishon Family Court probate order is based on a forged will...
Hebrew original
Image 3 | Frederic Ehrlich’s son, Avraham Ehrlich’s April 9, 2024, letter to Judge Shira Chani and her April 14, 2024, response – explaining the separation between the Court and Police.
...
English Translation
Decision dated April 14, 2024 (Judge Shira Chani):
The court's decision was forwarded by the Judicial Administration to the Israel Police so that the matter would be investigated as required. Beyond this, the court has no authority or tools to accelerate or oversee police investigations. The jurisdiction of the Courts Administration is separate from that of the Israel Police following the issuance of the judicial decision.
Hebrew original
Image 4 | crim 66013-07-24 State of Israel v Lavi in the Tel Aviv District Court – Plea Bargain of the perpetrator.
...
The
perpetrator was caught when the true Heir tried to issue the true
probate order in Jerusalem and was told that a will and probate order
had already been certified in the Rishon Family Court.
The
criminal trial records indicate that the perpetrator was an expert
and a veteran in such forgeries. In one case, he managed to have a
will certified and a probate order issued for a living woman and had
her land titles transferred into his name.
Image 5| State of Israel v Lavi in the Tel Aviv District Court – the March 9, 2025, conviction record, which was downloaded from Net HaMishpat.
...
The March 9, 2025, Conviction record is an excerpt from a Protocol record of the same day, and therefore it shows typical invalid and conflicting authentication elements:
1) The light blue shield with a V inside appears to simulate the Adobe icon for a valid electronically signed record. Here, it is more of an ornamental element, indicating that an electronic element was added to the record upon downloading, albeit it is not recognized as a valid certified or secure electronic signature by Comsign, Adobe, or the EU validation tool.
2) “True Copy” stamp – mimicking the traditional “True Copy of the Original” stamp, which used to be hand-signed by the Clerk of the Court. This automatic shield can be generated even on records that are patently invalid.
3) General disclaimer: “***In any case, the binding version is the one in the decision, signed by the judge”.
It is perhaps typical that the Israeli courts made the decision to create court files in which the records displayed to the public are accompanied by a disclaimer stating they are not authentic court records. It appears to be from the same legal philosophy school as the “Version subject to editing and phrasing changes,” which appeared in Supreme Court judicial records from 2002 to 2018.
4) The electronic watermark “Copy of a decision,” diagonally across the page: It is not “True Copy of a Decision”; therefore, it should be read as an additional disclaimer.
Overall, the case reflects the inherent deficiencies of the Israeli courts’ electronic signature system:
a) The public has no access to the electronic signature system. Accepting the signature’s existence and validity is an act of faith. The official reason for hiding the electronic signatures is “data security" concerns. However, it may just as well be a desire to hide an invalid signature system.
b) The transition to a hidden judicial signature system in Net HaMishpat had to be the outcome of a decision made well before 2010, during development of the system.
c) In the case at hand, Magistrate Judge Shira Chani not only repudiated her signature on the deceased Frederic Ehrlich’s probate order, but also stated that Estate File 1525-02-19 had never existed. As is the case regarding her repudiation of the electronic signature, the non-existence of Estate File 1525-02-19 could not be independently ascertained, since all Family Court files in Israel are held under seal. Many additional files are sealed for various other reasons, not always lawful reasons. A State Ombudsman audit reported that around 30% of the court files are not accessible to the public at all.
Such circumstances defy the centuries-old concept that access to court records, to inspect and to copy, and the Index of All Cases as one of the primary, public Books of Court, are fundamental, essential guarantees for the integrity of the courts.
Inherent in the same concept is the requirement that court files be consecutively numbered. For example, that requirement is explicitly stated in the U.S. Federal Rules of Court. That rule is not practiced in Israel, and when one enters the number of a sealed court file into Net HaMishpat, the system displays an error message indicating that a file with that number does not exist. According to the Administration of Courts, the intent is to prevent the public from figuring out which numbers are associated with sealed court files.
d) Overall, the case suggests a system where the Land Registration Bureau doesn't have access to the records in Net HaMishpat, instead relying on paper printouts of electronically signed records… which makes fraud much easier.
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