Man convicted of killing real estate entrepreneur in 2021 sentenced to life in jail
Court says Daniel Keidar planned, held ‘general rehearsal’ for murder of Eldad Peri over millions lost in project that went bust; 66-year-old to appeal ruling, defense says

A man convicted in the 2021 murder of real estate developer Eldad Peri over a failed investment was sentenced to life in prison on Monday.
The Lod District Court also ordered Daniel Keidar, 66, to pay Peri’s family NIS 258,000 ($71,300). Keidar’s attorney said he was innocent and would appeal to the Supreme Court.
In their verdict, the judges called Keidar’s claim that he was not at the scene of the murder “untruthful,” and said the defendant’s conduct in his interrogations “does not comport with his being a law-abiding person with no criminal record, and is atypical of a person claiming innocence.”
Keidar acted in an “arrogant and condescending” manner by refusing to answer questions during his cross-examination, the judges said.
In his trial, Keidar was found to have visited Peri’s neighborhood 13 times in the seven months leading up to the murder, and made numerous trips to the crime scene up to just three days before the crime. Keidar was also said to have performed a “general rehearsal” of the murder several days before it happened, arriving at the synagogue where Peri was murdered at almost the same time of day as when the crime eventually took place.
He aroused suspicion by failing to disclose to investigators his frequent visits to Peri’s neighborhood and the synagogue.

During his trial, Keidar said he had wanted to confront Peri, but was shown to have never contacted the developer.
Maariv reported that before the judges handed down their ruling, Peri’s family yelled at Keidar that he should “die painfully” in jail.
“You murdered a father of eight,” said a relative. “You could have sued him if you had grievances, you piece of trash.”
Keidar was convicted of the murder in November. He had been arrested on November 7, 2021, for the murder, which occurred on October 15 that year. According to the indictment, Keidar, from Rishon Lezion, shot Peri seven times at point-blank range in the parking lot of a synagogue in nearby Rehovot, where Peri was attending morning services.
Keidar then allegedly fled on his motorcycle, whose license plate he had covered with black tape.

The indictment said Keidar was infuriated after losing millions of shekels on one of Peri’s projects.
In 2018, according to the indictment, Keidar had invested some NIS 2.2 million ($608,275) to buy two apartments in one of Peri’s projects in Lod. The project later went bust, and in September 2020 Peri’s debtors petitioned the court to declare him and his company insolvent.
As part of a court-mandated rehabilitation plan, Keidar was ordered to put up another NIS 1.4 million ($412,000) for the two apartments he had agreed to purchase.
Enraged, the grandfather of six, who had no prior offenses and held a licensed firearm, tailed Peri and studied his routine, the indictment said, adding that police had obtained footage of Keidar stalking Peri.
In Keidar’s home, investigators found a pistol that forensic analysis tied to the shooting and the motorcycle thought to have been used as the escape vehicle.

The indictment included Keidar’s angry rhetoric from a chat group of Peri’s buyers.
“I am shocked and still have a hard time digesting the impudence and stupidity… about 2.5 million shekels, 200%, went down the drain,” Keidar reportedly wrote.
“When will you internalize that talk won’t help. When you have to shoot, shoot, don’t talk,” he also wrote in the group, according to the indictment.
Keidar’s Facebook page also featured a post from 2019 in which he uploaded a photo of himself holding a gun and a target from a firing range, along with the caption: “Haven’t I already warned you not to mess with me?”