A single bird perched on an electricity pole in Ein Kerem quite literally sparked a chain of events that ended in a devastating loss to Israeli art. The widow of acclaimed painter Ivan Schwebel has filed a 4.5 million shekel lawsuit against the Israel Electric Corp. in the Central District Court, alleging that the company’s failures led to a fire that completely destroyed hundreds of works by the late artist, who died in 2011.
The lawsuit, based on a report by Israel Fire and Rescue Services, describes how the bird caused a phenomenon known as an “electrical arc,” which ignited dry vegetation around the pole. From there, the fire spread rapidly, destroying decades of creative work. The suit was filed by Adva Frank Schwebel, the painter’s widow and heir. Schwebel created, among other works, the mural at Tel Aviv’s Habima Theater complex, Israel’s national cultural center, along with hundreds of additional paintings.
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Ivan Schwebel and one of the paintings destroyed in the fire
(Photo: Sebastian Schiefner, Courtesy)
In the lawsuit, Frank Schwebel, represented by attorneys Arie Fox and Roy Levin of the Tishman, Peritzky, Levin, Fox law firm, details the severe damage caused by the fire. “This is the total annihilation of hundreds of works of art of the highest economic and emotional value, and even the most objective assessment of the damage cannot capture the magnitude of the loss involved,” the filing states.
According to the plaintiff, the disaster was caused by alleged negligence on the part of the Israel Electric Corp. On June 6, 2025, a fire broke out at an electricity pole at the bottom of a wadi, or dry ravine, near the plaintiff’s home in the Ein Kerem neighborhood of Jerusalem. After flames surrounded the base of the pole, they quickly spread to the dry vegetation up the slope toward nearby buildings. Ultimately, the lawsuit says, several homes in the area were set ablaze, including parts of the plaintiff’s house. She claims the flames consumed hundreds of paintings, drawings and works by the late painter that were stored in the home, with an estimated value of millions of shekels.
According to an expert opinion submitted by the National Fire and Rescue Authority in January 2026, the cause of the fire was a bird that landed on the electricity pole and triggered an electrical arc that ignited the initial blaze. The opinion states that the bird’s burning body fell onto the dry vegetation beneath the pole, causing the fire to spread to nearby homes.
The lawsuit argues that the electric company should have ensured full insulation of exposed conductors, used bird deterrent measures commonly employed when installing electricity poles, and maintained buffer zones around poles in wooded areas by thinning and clearing dry vegetation at an appropriate distance from electrical infrastructure. In this case, the plaintiff alleges, adequate preventive measures were not implemented. As of now, no statement of defense has been filed.
In a response, the Israel Electric Corp. said: “The company is reviewing the lawsuit and will respond as part of the statement of defense to be submitted to the court.”