Weekly Update 41

June 20, 2025

Hello, everyone.

I hope you and your loved ones are staying safe during this difficult time. I debated whether it was appropriate to continue addressing Council matters during this emergency, which has turned the home front into the front lines. Last week, the newsletter did not cover council matters, but this week I feel it is right to return and update you because things are happening on the ground, and if they don’t stop—then neither will the newsletter. Even though just half an hour ago we were in the bomb shelter.

We continue to provide updates on the Zichrona neighborhood

I continue to monitor the progress of construction in Zichrona with great concern. If you ask the council head, he will say it won’t happen in the coming years. But many facts indicate otherwise. A reminder of the facts I detailed in previous newsletters and recent developments:

• The expropriation process in Zichrona for the expansion of the educational complex. The council head emphasized that there are alternative plots owned by the council for which a conceptual plan for building educational facilities has been approved, yet he chose the expropriation process in Zichrona, so that development of the area is actually being initiated by the council—contrary to what the council stated in court in response to the petition filed by the winning companies.
• Big, a company that purchased land at auction and plans to build assisted living facilities and a commercial center in the neighborhood, submitted plans and requested a series of concessions. I submitted a motion calling on the council to file an objection to this request, lest its approval be a harbinger of similar requests from other companies. My motion was not accepted because the council head stated during the session that the plenary session lacks the authority to decide on filing an objection (which is inaccurate), and in any case, the council would file an objection. So he stated for the record (along with many other declarations)—but in practice, such an important and critical objection was not filed.
• The council head reported to us at council meetings about two meetings he held at different times regarding Zichrona. The first was with the Minister of Housing and the second with the Director of the Northern District at the Ministry of the Interior. He claimed that they were pressuring him to promote Zichrona, threatening him—but he refused. Sounds great. So I reached out both times and asked to receive the meeting minutes. So that you and I could see for ourselves how the council head is stopping construction in Zichrona and applaud him.

One guess: did I manage to get the minutes? Regarding the first meeting with the Minister of Housing, which was also attended by the council engineer and the legal advisor—Abutbul claimed that no minutes were taken. A very strange fact for anyone who works with government ministries and knows that they always, always issue meeting minutes (another lie?). As for the second set of minutes—they didn’t answer me.

And I ask you: What is Abutbul hiding from the public? Why doesn’t he want me to see these minutes? Perhaps because there is a different story hidden there than the one he has presented to the public.

At the last council meeting, the council head reported that one of the companies that won the tender to build in Zichrona had filed a lawsuit against the Israel Land Authority. And that the council had been named as a defendant in the lawsuit by the ILA. Apparently, the developer’s claim concerns losses incurred by the company due to the failure to begin development and construction of the neighborhood.

The content of this lawsuit was not really explained to us at the meeting, so the next day, on June 4, I emailed the legal advisor, the council secretary, and the council head pursuant to Section 198A of the Local Authorities Ordinance to request a copy of the legal documents.

Council members have a legal right to receive a copy of or inspect documents, but this is subject to the approval of the head of the local authority. That is why I reached out—yet even before the war with Iran, I received no response. This is not a question or a motion, but a request to inspect documents, and if the council head or anyone acting on his behalf objects, they are required to provide a reasonable justification.

I remind you that Abutbul declared at the last plenary session that neither he nor anyone else would respond to my emails, and this directive was passed on to all council administrators. He apparently does not understand what democracy is or what the role of the opposition is, and above all, he is afraid of my scrutiny.

And I ask: Does he have something to hide?

The hotel being built in the nature reserve adjacent to Ma’ayan Tzvi:

The Gordonia Hotel in Zichron Yaakov, built in the nature reserve. Following an inquiry by Avigayil Dolev, a member of our party, a detailed response was provided at the meeting to residents’ complaints regarding damage to a cave located in the open public area beneath the hotel.

In the response written by the attorney representing the company building the hotel—Amiri Zichron Yaakov Ltd. (owned by Oded Turgeman)—it was stated that the fence around the cave was temporarily removed to complete development work on the public area adjacent to the hotel. This public area includes the cave and will be built as part of the company’s commitments to the council. Upon completion of the work, the fence will be reinstalled and the cave will be closed off with bars. All actions were carried out in coordination with the Israel Antiquities Authority and the local authority.

According to the council head, the hotel is scheduled to open in September. I assume this will be postponed due to the war.

If you’re interested in what’s being built there and what the new hotel will look like, here’s a promotional article sponsored by Amiri Zichron Yaakov Ltd., the company building the hotel. The article includes a video showing the hotel.

https://www.mako.co.il/news-business/duns_100-tv/Article-099a5700ec9a291026.htm

Take care

Limor