Weekly Update 38

May 23, 2025

Hello, everyone.

Today’s newsletter will focus on just one topic—obedience to the law and equality before the law!

Why does the council head flout the law, and the moment he’s caught, he immediately gives a false account along the lines of, “It wasn’t me at all, it was him,” or “I’m not involved in this,” and then when they investigate, it turns out it was definitely him or someone acting on his behalf who gave the orders, and he’s not just involved but the instigator of the whole thing.

In Newsletter No. 29, I first reported to you about the roadblock between Malchei Yisrael Street in the Neve Sharett neighborhood and Anavim Street (Road No. 2) in the Wine Park. This passage is required to be open to vehicular traffic according to the approved plan for Wine Park (Plan No. 656), which was approved in 2007; in other words, there is a statutory passage between Wine Park and Malchei Yisrael Street, and through it to the Neve Sharett neighborhood. This is Road No. 2.

However, this road has been blocked by a permanent barrier that prevents vehicle passage.

On March 8, I contacted the head of the council, the council directors, and the gatekeepers regarding this serious matter.

I received no response.

In Newsletter 33, I returned and updated you that, as usual, the council head, council staff, and gatekeepers did not respond to my appeal. So I proceeded and wrote to the police and the Ministry of Transportation. And just before raising the issue on the regional radio station where I was interviewed a few weeks ago—I received responses from them.

Their astonishing responses reveal that the local police station was unaware of the roadblock and even claims it is not within its jurisdiction, while the Ministry of Transportation’s response indicates it was completely unaware of the roadblock. It’s simply the Wild West.

Thousands of residents listened to my interview on the radio show that I posted. However, the council head chose not to send a response to either the radio show or the reporter who contacted him. And the road remains blocked.

I proceeded to submit a motion regarding the roadblock, in which I asked why the road was blocked, who ordered it, and demanded that this illegal action be removed, among other things.

My motion was brought up for discussion at the council meeting on May 6—I presented the facts. The council head attacked me personally for raising the issue on a radio show and in a Facebook post instead of addressing the facts objectively. The council chairman and his paid deputies—Zila Reshef and Meir Vanunu, who were just appointed—along with coalition members, removed my motion from the agenda for discussion!!!

He probably hoped I would give up, that I would forget. But how can one ignore an illegal act? A roadblock in violation of the law. I am committed to the law and to acting transparently and upholding proper governance on your behalf.

As for the question of why the road was blocked and who blocked it—here is the council head’s version, which can be heard in the recording of the meeting. He shifts the blame onto Rami—the Israel Land Authority.

It’s simply amazing and unbelievable

Minute 14:55 – “They finished it recently and they blocked it. Do you think the local council blocked it? The Israel Land Authority takes responsibility for these things; it’s their development, it’s not the Zichron Yaakov Local Council that decides there. It has nothing to do with us at all. The one who brought this up to us was Edi Rosen (the site manager on behalf of the ILA). He came and said, ‘Apparently there was a glitch; let’s try to fix this,’ and he went in himself with Marin to the families there. There’s nothing we can do; there’s nothing to be done.”

At the meeting, I refused to withdraw the motion; I said I needed to verify the information he provided. Well, the diligent reporter from Radio 90FM, Itamar Rotem, checked—he contacted Rami to get their position.

You’ll be surprised by what the Israel Land Authority replied. Anyone familiar with Abutbul’s antics from previous terms won’t be surprised at all:

“The Israel Land Authority paved the road connecting Wine Park to the Neve Sharett neighborhood in accordance with the zoning plan. The managing company blocked it at the request of the Zichron Yaakov Council. Neve Sharett residents approached the municipality and demanded that no physical connection be made and that the road remain blocked so that construction trucks would not pass through the neighborhood. Therefore, they demanded that the dead-end road remain as it was until the construction of the Wine Park is completed in a few years. A request was submitted to the Ministry of Transportation in which the council engineer asks to maintain the current arrangement and not open the road until the Wine Park is built. Any complaint regarding the closure should be directed not to Rami but to the head of the local authority who initiated the closure himself and to the Ministry of Transportation, which is responsible for statutory roads.

The new excuse for the closure is the fear that trucks will enter the Wine Park—which is a construction site for at least a few more years—via the blocked street. This is a lame excuse because the road could be opened and a sign posted prohibiting trucks from entering.

Moreover, trucks can enter the Wine Park from HaTirosh Street—so the residents there on HaTirosh, HaKerem, and Kibbutz Galuyot streets are not considered residents, and it’s fine for them to be disturbed by trucks, but for the residents of Malki Israel—God forbid. So this is unacceptable discrimination!

I’m continuing to fight against the blockade. This is a matter of principle for hundreds of residents in both neighborhoods. And it’s a matter of principle for anyone living in another neighborhood who wants the law to be upheld.

I posted about this this morning, where you can listen to the recording from yesterday’s broadcast. Go check it out, leave a comment, and share the post in every way possible!!

I need your support to succeed—so that the mayor, his two paid deputies, and the council members covering for him understand that there is an entire community here that doesn’t buy his stories and, above all, is unwilling to accept a violation of the law or discrimination between residents. In the “Free Stage” group—

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15FjMgamuM/