Public complaints up in 2009
In total, 12,639 complaints filed with Office of Ombudsman in 2009, a 20% increase from previous year. Complaints found to be justified include Holocaust survivor whose disability was not recognized, Druze women who wished to travel to Syria for pilgrimage
Exactly 12,639 public complaints were filed with the Office of the Ombudsman in 2009, a 20% increase compared with the previous year, the institution's annual report indicates. The data points to a record rate since the establishment of the Office of the Ombudsman in 1971. More than 30% of the complaints turned out to be justified.
The highest number of complaints filed with State Comptroller and Ombudsman Micha Lindenstrauss was against the National Insurance Institute, with 1,109 complaints. Next on the list is the Israel Police, with 756 complaints.
The Interior Ministry came in third with 440 complaints filed against it, the Finance Ministry received 405 complaints, and the Justice Ministry ranked fifth with 400 complaints filed against it.
Also high up on the list are the Ministry or Transport with 324 complaints, the Israel Land Administration with 315 complaints, the Israel Broadcasting Authority (301), the Education Ministry (282), the state-owned housing form Amidar (270), the Ministry of Construction and Housing (258), the Health Ministry (225), the IDF (216) and the Clalit Heath Services, which received 200 complaints.
However, complaints filed by Knesset members declined this year. In total, 34 complaints were filed by MKs, 18 of which were all filed by MK Zevulun Orlev (Habayit Hayehudi).
Poor treatment of Shoah survivor
One example of a complaint which turned out to be justified is that of a female Holocaust survivor who suffers from osteoporosis. She filed, four times, medical documents stating that she suffers from the disease, but the physician at the Finance Ministry's Authority for Holocaust Survivors' Rights ruled that there was no proof she suffers from the disease.
The woman filed a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman, and after reviewing her case, the Finance Ministry's physician changed his mined and decided to recognize that she suffers from the disease and increase her disability rate.
Another complaint which turned out to be justified was one filed by Druze women from the Golan Heights, who wished to travel to Syria to visit the gravesite of the Druze prophet Habil. The women's initial request was turned down by the Interior Ministry, since such special permits are only granted to religious clerics - who are all men.
The Ombudsman's Office reminded the ministry of the principle of equality, and the ministry ultimately reversed its decision and allowed 43 Druze women over the age of 70 to travel to Syria.
Another complaint was filed by a man who moved his family to Sderot at the end of 2007, and changed address at the Interior Ministry. Despite the change, he was surprised to learn that he was not eligible to vote in the municipal election. When the man inquired, it turned out his name was removed from the poll book because two candidates claimed the address the man submitted was located in a yeshiva.
A deeper examination revealed that the address was a private house, in the city, and that no one informed the man that his named was removed from the poll book. The election supervisor apologized to the man and promised to examine such cases more closely in the future.
A resident of Deir Hanna in the Galilee complained to the Ombudsman's Office back in 2007, saying he was not connected to the municipal sewage network, despite paying his taxes. He said he was being charged as if he was connected to the sewage system. A closer look showed that the council could not connect the man to the sewage system, since his neighbor had built supporting walls, which did not allow for the laying of pipes. In August 2007, the Ombudsman's Office ruled that the man should immediately be connected to the sewage system. Despite the ruling, the man remained unconnected, until the council head was replaced in 2009.
