Serial pedophile freed after 21 years, dismaying his past victims and new neighbors

A notorious serial pedophile who was released from prison Wednesday after 21 years behind bars will not be able to return to live in his childhood home, which is in the same Tel Aviv neighborhood where he committed his crimes and where one of his victims still lives.

The Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court accepted a request by the victim, whom Itay Leibovitch raped when she was just nine, and issued a temporary order that he stay away and also banning him from living or working in Tel Aviv.

Leibovitch, who changed his name in prison and now goes by Yisrael Gur-Aryeh, is also prohibited from trying to contact any of his victims or being in the area of their place of work.

However, the court allowed the offender to meet with his mother in Tel Aviv, on condition that the meeting is not within 300 meters of the home or place of work of the victim who filed the court request.

The court is to hold a further hearing on the matter on April 20.

In addition to the victim’s court action, local residents had protested against Leibovitch having access to their neighborhood.

One mother of a first-grader from the neighborhood, identified only as Liat, told the Maariv outlet that she was glad about the ruling.

“It is a relief to know that he won’t come back to the neighborhood, at least for the time being,” she said.

In 2004, a court sentenced Leibovitch to 24 years in prison for the rape of two girls, aged 9 and 11, as well as sexual assault of several others. His youngest victim was reportedly just four years old.

אחרי 21 שנים במאסר: ישראל גור-אריה, שנקרא בעבר איתי ליבוביץ וכונה ״הפדופיל מת״א״ ישוחרר היום מבית הכלא. אחת הנפגעות הגישה בקשה לצו הרחקה, ולא זכתה למענה הולם מבית המשפט: ״מפחדת להיתקל בו, לא רוצה להסתכל ימינה ושמאלה״ pic.twitter.com/vT7y1QP4PK

— Ofek Tzach אופק צח (@OfekTzach) March 19, 2025

Speaking to the Ynet outlet after the ruling and identified only by the Hebrew letter Dalet, the victim who filed the request said she was unimpressed with the terms.

Dalet noted that although Leibovitch is supposed to stay a certain distance from her place of work and home, he doesn’t know those locations, making it impractical.

“How will they enforce this? It is as though they haven’t authorized anything,” she complained.

A plan for Leibovitch and his mother to instead rent an apartment in Petah Tikva was reportedly thwarted by local residents who protested against the move, resulting in the cancellation of a contract. There were protests Wednesday outside the building.

The Petah Tikva Municipality has been active in seeking to prevent Leibovitch from taking up residence in the city.

In a notification to residents, city hall said that, if necessary, it was poised “to activate all legal tools available to the municipality on the subject, alongside the organization of residents and the expected protest measures. The mayor and all municipal officials are handling the issue seriously and responsibly, and as reliable information is received, it will be reflected to the public accordingly.”

תושבי פתח תקווה מפגינים נגד כניסה של פדופיל לשכונה#נתפסועלחם pic.twitter.com/3qIL9nGHlb

— Ubearta Hara ״ובערת הרע מקרבך״ (@UbeartaM) March 19, 2025

On the day of the rape, Leibovitch had followed Dalet home, where she was alone, then knocked on the door and insisted he had an urgent letter to deliver to her parents. Though at first she declined to open the door, he continued to insist that it was important. When she cautiously opened the door, he forced his way in and raped her.

Speaking to the media before the court ruling, Dalet explained that she is still traumatized by the events of more than two decades ago.

“I knew that this day would arrive, but on the other hand, I can’t accept that the punishment has ended,” Dalet told Channel 13. “Now what? He goes back to a normal life? To walk the streets? I never got back to normal. It is not fair that he should. It is only a matter of time until something else happens.”

Dalet said she was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and that she occasionally has episodes that have a detrimental impact on her life.

“Time doesn’t heal,” she said, explaining she lives just 200 meters from Leibovitch’s childhood home.

“It is unavoidable that we run into each other somehow, and that is frightening,” Dalet said. “I don’t want to have to look left and right all the time.”

לאחר מלחמות של תושבי תל אביב, הפדופיל איתי ליבוביץ׳ ישוחרר לגבולות פתח תקווה – התושבים זועמים. ״מה אנחנו סוג ב׳!?״: בשבוע שעבר פרסמנו כאן לראשונה על הפדופיל המסוכן איתי ליבוביץ׳ שאגב שינה את שמו בכלא ל״גור אריה״ לאחר שאנס מספר רב של ילדות בתל אביב ויוצא מהכלא לאחר 24 שנים להתגורר… pic.twitter.com/i36bBP4HPu

— daniel amram – דניאל עמרם (@danielamram3) March 19, 2025

Dalet told Ynet that her mother had managed to block previous attempts by Leibovitch for an early release from prison.

Only last week was Dalet told of his impending release day, but according to her, the protocol is that she should have been told 60 days ahead. When she found out, she quickly filed a court request.

Amit Feder, the mother of a nine-year-old girl, lives in the same building as Leibovitch’s mother.

Ahead of the release, she told Ynet she only found out about the sordid event when someone mentioned it to her in passing.

Feder found out that since June, Leibovitch has been allowed 24-hour furloughs during which he stayed at his mother’s home.

She said she never met him and learned of his release a week before it was to happen.

“I felt like I was suffocating,” said Feder, who has lived in the building for four years.

After she found out about Leibovitch’s exit from prison, Feder found somewhere else to live.

“We are running away,” she said, holding back tears. “I don’t want my daughter to have any interaction with him.”

Noting the upheaval it was causing to her and her daughter, Feder lamented that even many years after his crimes, “another girl is being harmed by that criminal.”

Leibovitch would follow his victims to identify when they were alone, or apply for jobs that gave him access to vulnerable children, such as security guard in a kindergarten or instructor at a center for children from troubled homes.

He was convicted after confessing to his crimes.

Judges at the time rejected his claim that he had acted the way he did because of abuse he suffered as a child.