The Finance Ministry plans to close dual offices maintained by several government ministers in Tel Aviv after Justice Minister Yariv Levin tried to block the attorney general from entering their shared office by changing the locks.
According to officials, all existing secondary offices for ministers in Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan are expected to be shuttered. A team from the accountant general’s office will soon examine which offices violate a government decision prohibiting ministers from holding a second office outside the Jerusalem government complex.
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Transportation Minister Miri Regav, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Education Minister Yoav Kisch
(Photo: Shalev Shalom, Yair Sagi, Oz Moalem)
At least seven ministers are believed to operate dual offices in Tel Aviv in defiance of the policy. Levin, who recently changed the locks in his office to prevent access by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, is among those under review. Some ministers with offices in Jerusalem use Tel Aviv facilities primarily on Thursdays, but the accountant general intends to prohibit all such use.
Ministers with Tel Aviv offices include Economy Minister Nir Barkat, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Transportation Minister Miri Regev, Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar, Education Minister Yoav Kisch and Innovation Minister Gila Gamliel. Housing Minister Haim Katz, previously without a Tel Aviv office, now occupies offices of other ministers temporarily. Ministers Shlomo Karai and Idit Silman also maintain offices in the city as did Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf before his resignation.
The Finance Ministry said most dual offices are empty and underutilized during the week. Under the direction of Accountant General Yali Rothenberg, an entire floor of the government complex across from the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv has been equipped with rooms and halls for senior officials, mainly for meetings on Thursdays.
Officials said ministers were explicitly instructed that any secondary offices must be closed immediately, citing Government Decision 627, which bans dual offices and requires that existing ones be returned to ministry use or government housing.
“Every case of violation or change in allocated space without approval must be investigated,” a Finance Ministry spokesperson said.