The former mayor of Nazareth, the head of a powerful crime family, and 10 other defendants were accused in court on Thursday of embezzling millions of shekels from the municipality’s coffers over a decade.

The indictments filed in the Nazareth District Court constituted a major blow to one of Israel’s most notorious mafia-style crime syndicates, thought to be one of the main forces driving a rampant wave of violent crime in Israeli Arab society.

Ali Salam, Nazareth’s ex-mayor, was charged with overseeing the transfer of some NIS 61 million ($20 million) to the Bakri crime family from 2015 to 2025, via a front, a private security service called Shomrei HaGalil.

The company was given contracts by the municipality, while Salam and his associates in the municipality used false invoices and inflated working hours to transfer the large sums of money to Samir Bakri, the head of the crime family, and his accomplices, the indictment said.

Last year, the mayor allegedly tried to back out of the scheme and suspend payments to the Bakri family, but they wouldn’t allow it and began to make threats against Salam and his son.

The investigation was launched after one of the many alleged victims of the Bakri family’s extortion contacted police. He was forced to sell his home and ultimately repay his blackmailers via phony invoices from four companies that provided him no services, which also served as fronts for the crime syndicate, prosecutors said.

Suspects from the Nazareth municipality and Bakri crime family are brought to the Northern District police headquarters as part of a far-reaching investigation into the funneling of public funds to criminal elements, in footage shared by police on February 26, 2026. (Israel Police)

The organization’s checkbook was seized, among other things, from an apartment in the city, containing checks worth approximately NIS 109 million ($35 million).

The defendants were indicted in the Nazareth District Court on a litany of charges, among them fraud, breach of trust, bribery, money laundering, and extortion.

Arab society marked its deadliest year on record in 2025, with 252 people losing their lives in crime-related killings, a nearly 300% rise from 2017.

Daily protests and strikes began sweeping through the Arab community last month, part of a burgeoning struggle against rampant gang violence, which Arab leaders claim is fueled by state neglect.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

If so, we have a request. 

Every day during the past two years of war and rising global anti-Zionism and antisemitism, our journalists kept you abreast of the most important developments that merit your attention. Millions of people rely on ToI for fact-based coverage of Israel and the Jewish world. 

We care about Israel - and we know you do too. So we have an ask for this new year of 2026: express your values by joining The Times of Israel Community, an exclusive group for readers like you who appreciate and financially support our work. 

We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.

You clearly find our careful reporting valuable, in a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.

Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically since October 7.

So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you'll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.

Thank you,David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel

1 In the Knesset, Modi says India stands firmly with Israel ‘in this moment and beyond’

2 Op-edFacing Trump, Hamas bet on survival and is being vindicated; Iran’s regime has the same game plan

3 Iran pushes back against Trump, says US and Israel using Goebbels-like propaganda

4 Bill Gates admits affairs with two Russian women, denies involvement in Epstein’s crimes

5 MKs approve preliminary bill cementing Orthodox control over entire Western Wall

6 Israeli woman arrested in Turkey for serving in IDF, released after US intervention

7 Gazan firm to build UAE-funded housing complex in Israel-controlled south — sources

8 Iranian FM arrives in Geneva for talks as US demands any nuclear deal last indefinitely

Nazareth District Court

organized crime in Israel

© The Times of Israel