Weekly Update 36

May 9, 2025

Hello, everyone.

This morning we received the news of the passing of Yishai Elkayam Orbach, a resident of our community. A lovely young man, 20 years old, who had just gotten married a few months ago. Our hearts are broken. Our condolences to his widow and family.

Last Tuesday, a quorum council meeting was held, during which we voted in favor of a series of projects; I would like to update you on a few of them.

Construction of a new wing at the HaHita School:

This project is a continuation of a process that began during Ziv Deshe’s previous term and included planning the program and obtaining a building permit for: Classrooms, a workshop space for activities, auxiliary rooms (intended for the counselor and grade-level coordinator), a small amphitheater, and the expansion and landscaping of an additional schoolyard area that includes fitness facilities. The new wing will be 1,600 square meters and will include fortifications so that the entire Haita School will have full fortification (which we hope we won’t need).

After the construction plans were prepared, a budget of 6.5 million NIS was received from the Ministry of Education, and the council is required to contribute a similar amount. To this end, we voted at the meeting to take out a loan of 5 million NIS. Since taking out a loan is costly for the public treasury (interest) and is usually repaid from the authority’s current budget—I asked the treasurer why we wouldn’t pay our share from the property fund (which was accumulated from the sale of council assets about a decade ago), thereby reducing the amount of the loan the council would take out.

The treasurer replied—

We all voted in favor due to the importance and urgency of establishing the new and specialized division.

A soccer field at the entrance to Mol Zichron on land bordering Highway 4:

According to the plan presented to us, a standard soccer field is planned, complete with spectator stands, locker rooms, and more. The field will be built at the entrance to Mol Zichron on land owned by the council. At this stage, we were asked to approve 700,000 NIS for the site’s planning. The construction cost is expected to be high, but I voted in favor only after it was stated that the funds for the planning we approved and the construction would come from the Mifal HaPais lottery. The ongoing maintenance costs for the field and its facilities will come from our council’s budget, but this is a worthwhile expense for the benefit of the children who are currently training on an old, non-standard field. Since there is no soccer team managed by the council or the community center, once the facility is operational and serves associations or private entities, it will be necessary to charge appropriate usage fees, as is customary for sports halls.

The old field currently in use is the Maccabi Field (adjacent to the old summer cinema building where, for example, Hertz is located). At the meeting, the council head noted that with the opening of the new field in a few years, the Maccabi Field and the entire adjacent structure will be demolished. The land there is owned by the council and is zoned for commercial use. According to the council head, the Maccabi Trustees Committee claims that the land is theirs, and there is currently a dispute regarding this matter. According to the council head, there is clear evidence that the land was leased to Maccabi and is not owned by them.

Construction of outdoor kitchens at the Rebecca Aharonsohn Agricultural Farm:

We are pleased to announce the inauguration of the agricultural farm building, which was constructed and completed during the previous term. The construction cost was approximately 5 million NIS and includes classrooms, a teachers’ lounge, a laboratory, and a field kitchen. The Education Department has raised the need to build an outdoor kitchen in addition to the existing one. At the meeting, we were asked to approve an additional 30,000 NIS on top of what had already been approved, bringing the total construction cost to 110,000 NIS.

On the surface, we were asked to approve a very small additional amount, and coalition members pressed us during the meeting to vote in favor of everything and go home quickly!! Sounds crazy, right? Yes, this is the attitude of some coalition members, including the new deputy mayor, who view my questions during the meeting and my inquiries in letters and emails as “trolling” the system. I see it as part of my role to oversee and safeguard public funds. During Abutbul’s previous term, during which Zila served as his deputy, we saw how the council and the entire community were led by him into decline due to managerial and financial irresponsibility in grandiose projects. That is why I will continue, despite the glares and harsh words I receive from the coalition.

So on this issue as well, I insisted on asking whether a building permit was required for the summer kitchen. Only after the council engineer replied that no permit was required did I vote in favor.

But I will continue to consult with professionals because it seems very strange to me that a building permit is not required for a structure that includes water, electricity, drainage, and accessibility infrastructure—a structure where children will be present all the time. You don’t play around with the law and safety. Even according to the guidelines of the Planning and Building Law, “Works and Structures Exempt from Permits, 2014,” I found no exemptions for this type of structure.

I would appreciate it if any of the newsletter’s readers—lawyers, engineers, or architects working in the field of planning and construction—could assist me with this inquiry.

The question of a building permit also arose regarding the renovation of Nuri’s kiosk (located in Gan Tiul), which the plenary voted on a few months ago. I sent emails there as well, asking whether a building permit was required for the future structure—of course, I received no response. I submitted an inquiry (see attached) and am awaiting a response. But it is clear to me that, as with previous inquiries I have submitted, Abutbul will first slander me and then respond/evade the issue with generalities, and in essence, there will be no real answer.

That is why it is important that as many people in the community as possible receive this newsletter—knowledge is power. Please feel free to send me the email addresses of friends and family so I can add them to the mailing list, and they too will have access to information about what is happening in the council and the community. By the way, the list of recipients is confidential.

Yours,

Limor