A car bomb killed Yaakov Alperon, a reputed Israeli crime boss whose death stirred a media frenzy.

By ISABEL KERSHNER


RAANANA, Israel - A couple of burly men were guarding the gate to the house of the recently departed Yaakov Alperon, a reputed Israeli crime boss who was killed by a bomb planted in his rented car as he drove along a busy thoroughfare in Tel Aviv last month.

Members of his extensive clan and numerous associates had gathered to sit shiva, the traditional Jewish mourning period, at the family home on a quiet street in this bourgeois suburban town north of Tel Aviv. Behind the high white picket fence topped by security cameras, they were observing the seven-day mourning period in the traditional way. This reporter was allowed in, escorted by one of the henchmen, with the suggestion that the visit be limited to a short condolence call.

A portrait of Mr.Alperon, also known as Don, was propped up on a table lighted by candles, adding mystique to the heavy decor. He was smiling pleasantly in the picture, though in life he was better known for his withering glare.

Mr.Alperon’s widow, Ahuva, knelt on cushions on the floor with a plate of cut vegetables beside her, a wisp of a blonde surrounded by a crouching circle of wellwishers. Asked how she was feeling, she gave a long sigh.

Immediately after the killing, Mrs.Alperon welcomed the country’s top crime reporters into the family home and wept bitterly on camera, begging for pity on her seven children, “young orphans who would no longer be able to say‘Father.’ ‘’One son, 21, had appeared in a Tel Aviv court that morning, where he was arraigned on charges of threats and extortion. The Israeli Don, who had attended the proceeding, was blown up shortly after leaving the courthouse.

Mr.Alperon was a mobster, according to the police, who was at 54 the leader of an organized crime family known for racketeering. The family is said to have fought for control of markets ranging from illegal gambling joints, to bottle recycling, to sidewalk flower stalls.

In recent years, though, the Alperons had made themselves more likable, partly by becoming increasingly accessible to the press. A local model, Yael Goldman, even moved into the family home as part of a television reality show, “Once in a Lifetime,’’in which people were matched with different, often incongruous, types of families. In general, coverage of some of Israel’s recent gangland wars has been marked by a more up-close, human touch.

Another reputed crime kingpin, Meir Aberjil, recently showed his softer side. Facing extradition to the United States, where he has been indicted on charges including racketeering, Mr.Aberjil broke down in tears in a Jerusalem court a few months ago, proclaiming his innocence and telling the judge, “I am so scared of America.’’

Israel’s gangsters are as dangerous as they come. In July, a 31-year-old Israeli woman was shot dead in front of her husband and two young children when she got in the way of a botched mob hit on a beach in Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv. The reputed crime figure Rami Amira was believed to have been the real target.

Mr. Alperon, who had survived at least three previous assassination attempts, was not short of enemies. One man named as a suspect in his murder was Amir Mulner, who left a 2006 mob convention with a stab wound to the neck - one that was widely attributed to the Alperons.

The Aberjils and Alperons also had a long-running feud, after a member of the Aberjil family was famously beaten by the Alperons under a security camera at a busy intersection in Tel Aviv.

Coincidentally, the day after the killing of Mr.Alperon, two criminals, said to be associated with the Aberjils, were sentenced to long prison terms for conspiring to kill Mr.Alperon’s brother, Nissim.

Ms.Goldman, the model, had mixed feelings about her brush with the Alperons.“You see ‘The Sopranos’ and it sounds sexy that some Mafioso comes and charms you into the sunset,’’ she said referring to the popular American television show about a gangster’s life. “But in reality it is the opposite. It is very intimidating, scary, not kosher,’’ she said.

After Mr.Alperon’s assassination, his widow, Ahuva, called for an end to the cycle of war and revenge. At the funeral, however, one son swore over the grave that he would “take off’’ the killer’s “head, arms and legs.’’

“There won’t even be a head left to bury,’’ he said.