Weekly Update 55

August 26, 2025

Hello, everyone.

Summary:

• First Topic: The story of the renovation of the kiosk in Gan Tiul, “Nuri’s Kiosk,” has reached a legal conclusion. I am pleased to report that, following my inquiry and follow-up, the Council approached the Regional Planning and Construction Committee and secured a building permit. A tender for its operation is now pending.
• Second Topic: The Zamarin Community Center is a municipal corporation operating on a budget of nearly 25 million NIS per year. What are its functions, who actually heads it, who are its board members, and why has it had no audit committee for nearly a year and why aren’t the minutes of its board meetings published to the public?

First issue: Nuri’s kiosk in Gan Tiul—the tender for operating the site was postponed by a month

In Newsletter No. 44 in July of this year, I updated you regarding the irregular procedure concerning the renovation of the kiosk/café in Gan Tiul, which previously faced Herzl Street and is known as “Nuri’s Kiosk,” named after its late operator, Moshe Ozer.

The story begins with a lovely idea that preserves a blessed community heritage, but as is the council head’s way, incorrect information was provided at the council meeting, and there was an intention to carry out actions inconsistent with the Planning and Building Law, which led to in-depth investigations and my exposure of the matter.

Even at the very first council meeting where this was discussed, it was not stated that the building required a permit. For those unfamiliar with business licensing, I will explain that if one wishes to open a café there, the business must obtain a business license—and no business license can be issued if the café is located in a building without a permit, or if the land’s zoning does not permit any type of commercial activity. None of us would want to patronize a business located in a building without a permit and therefore without a business license.

I requested information several times to which I am entitled by law, and since I received no response, I acted in accordance with my public duty and submitted an inquiry on the matter, to which the council head insisted that no permit was required for the building. Here is the inquiry and his response:

An inquiry is submitted by a council member a month before the council head answers it in a meeting. A review I conducted with the Planning and Building Committee reveals that a few days after the inquiry was submitted (and undoubtedly because of it), the council rushed to file an application for an expedited building permit. A few weeks later, when the council head answered my inquiry at the meeting, he already knew that a permit application had been submitted. Yet this did not stop him from continuing to claim that no permit was needed. If no permit is needed, why did the council approach the regional committee and submit an application on the matter? And what a shallow lie—one so easy to expose, since the committee’s meetings are open to the public.

In Newsletter 44, I promised you: “I will continue to monitor the situation and keep you updated, because whoever wins the tender may end up with a mountain of unresolved problems. And that is what I want to prevent—that the council act in accordance with the law, that the winner receive the property legally, and that we, the residents, sit in a park or at a café that has a permit and a business license. It’s that simple.”

I have been in constant contact with the committee, and I am pleased to report that the Regional Committee, through an expedited procedure under the authority of the committee’s engineer, has finally granted a permit for the structure. Additionally, following my inquiries to the committee, I was informed that the zoning of the land for the structure has also been resolved, allowing the use of the area designated as open public space for the public purpose of the kiosk. This allowed for the publication of a legal tender for the operation of the site. However, as of the original deadline, apparently no bids had been submitted, and the deadline was postponed to October 20, 2025. If anyone here is interested, the full tender documents are available on the council’s website at this link—

https://www.zy1882.co.il/Branches/Branch.aspx?nodeId=1265&branchId=4059

I’ll say it for the thousandth time: I’m in favor of sensible development of the community for the benefit of the residents, not for the benefit of those with vested interests. That’s why I voted in favor of renovating the kiosk. All I ask is that it be done in accordance with the law and with full transparency toward the council members. I worked toward that goal, and now there will be a legally compliant venue with a permit.

Second issue: The Zamarin Community Center—who is responsible, and why hasn’t an audit committee been appointed in the past 10 months?

To fulfill some of its functions, a local authority may establish a municipal corporation to carry out activities on its behalf. The Zamarin Community Center is a municipal corporation that oversees a wide range of cultural, recreational, and community activities within its framework. This role, according to the law, belongs to the council, which delegates its powers to the community center.

The following departments operate within the Community Center: the Culture Department, the Jewish Culture Department, the Senior Citizens Department (H.Z.B. Club), the Dance Center, the Sports, Clubs, and Leisure Department, the Conservatory, the Youth Department, and more. It is clear that we all use the services of the community center, which serves as a central link in the services residents receive from the council; therefore, it is important that this body operates with proper governance and focuses solely on the needs of the residents.

A municipal corporation is required to operate like a business corporation—it has a board of directors/management. The head of the Zamarin Community Center’s management is the council chair. When Zila Reshef’s appointment as deputy was approved, we were told that a deputy was needed to assist the council chair and replace him in his role as chair of the Community Center’s management. However, to do so, the bylaws must first be amended. Amending the bylaws requires a series of approvals, the first of which comes from the Ministry of the Interior. Six months have passed—there has been no change to the bylaws—and the head of the local council remains the chairman. Thus, as the deputy head of the local council acts on-site with department heads, it is unclear what legal authority she has to do so.

The community center’s board also consists of

• two council members elected by the full council: Netanel Goldberg from the New Contract party and Ilan Amrani, who left the Lema’an HaMoshava party and joined the coalition.
• 3 public representatives, also elected by the full council: Shagit Dover, Avner Weiss, and Meira Tzuk (all of whom must also be approved by the Association of Municipal Corporations)
• 3 council employees who do not work for the corporation and are also approved by the full council and the Registrar of Corporations: Council Treasurer Avi Hosman, Archives Director Liron Fogel, and Welfare Department Director Pnina Amira.

The community center is headed by the CEO, Nitzan Damti, who was selected through a competitive bidding process less than a year ago. Like any business corporation, it must have a supervisory mechanism consisting of two members of an audit committee and an external legal advisor. In the case of the Zamarin Community Center, there is an external law firm selected through a lawful tender process that handles all of the corporation’s legal affairs. The council’s legal advisor does not handle the corporation’s day-to-day affairs, except in specific cases.

However, there has been no audit committee for ten months. The two members of the audit committee resigned ten months ago (for their own reasons), and since then, no time has been found to appoint two new audit committee members. Thus, the community center is operating without an audit committee. It is not proper governance when a municipal corporation as central as this one, with a budget of nearly 25 million NIS, has been operating for nearly a year without an audit committee.

For some reason, the community center’s minutes are also not published to the public, and how do I know this? Because I inquired about it and was told that there were three board meetings in the past year, and if I wish, I am welcome to schedule a time to come and review them.

Again, a transparency issue—a public body funded by public money is expected to publish minutes open for public review and even send them directly to all council members via email without me having to schedule a visit to review them, as if they were the Dead Sea Scrolls buried in the council.

For those who wish to delve deeper into what is happening at the Community Center—attached is an inquiry I submitted and the responses to the questions in the inquiry received from the Community Center’s legal advisor. The responses are highlighted in yellow.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Community Center on the successful organization of the fourth wine festival held about two weeks ago. All tickets were sold out, the pedestrian mall was bustling with life, and the feedback was excellent.

I will not be sending you a newsletter for the next two weeks. Due to the holiday season, there will be no council meeting in October. See you in the next newsletter on 10/17.

Happy New Year, a good and final sealing, and happy holidays.

Limor