On February 2, 2025, the Association for Civil Rights submitted a petition on behalf of four residents from Sderot who were evacuated from their city days after the war began. These residents, who were dealing with the effects of being displaced from their homes, were then denied the housing grants they were entitled to, or discovered that they had accumulated debt with the National Insurance Institute due to incorrect reporting about their hotel stays. Appeals they submitted to the Ministry of Tourism regarding the incorrect reports remained unanswered for many months—sometimes even over a year. In our petition, we demanded that the Minister of Tourism exercise his authority and direct the Ministry of Tourism to establish clear and transparent procedures and criteria for ruling on the appeals submitted by residents.
The petition noted that appeals from residents of Sderot and Kiryat Shmona (another city that was evacuated) regarding incorrect reporting from hotels have been pending with the Ministry of Tourism for many months without having received a response, even in cases where there is clear evidence that the residents did not stay at a hotel. It was further noted that there are no criteria for ruling on the appeals submitted by residents, and there are no guidelines regarding which documents residents need to submit to support their appeal. This violates the obligation of the Minister of Interior and the Ministry to make decisions based on transparent and clear criteria, and act fairly and efficiently.
HCJ 2711-02-25 Kakon et al. v. Tourism Attorneys: Tal Hassin, Avner Pinchuk
The petition (Heb)
For a list of articles (Hebrew) about this case, see here