Ninety-two homebuyers have filed a lawsuit seeking NIS 36 million ($9.5 million) against Gindi Israel Vision, part of the Gindi Holdings Group, claiming the company misled them about the location of its Gindi Neve Ayalon housing project in Or Yehuda by concealing plans for a large cemetery nearby.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the Tel Aviv District Court, accuses the developer of deception and violating its duty of disclosure in marketing the project. According to the plaintiffs, Gindi promoted the neighborhood using videos and renderings showing green parks and open fields but omitted any reference to the future cemetery, which they say was “blatantly and systematically concealed.”
The plaintiffs, represented by attorneys Guy Nof and Ofir Schwartz of Nof, Oren, Ben Ami & Co., claim the cemetery’s proximity will significantly reduce the value of their properties and affect their quality of life. An appraisal attached to the suit estimates that the omission has created price gaps of hundreds of thousands of shekels (tens of thousands of dollars) between the purchase prices and the apartments’ true market value.
The buyers say they were led to believe they were purchasing homes near a large park and a commercial center in a pastoral setting. “What Gindi did not show,” the lawsuit states, “was that the project is located next to one of the largest and busiest cemeteries in Israel. The promotional video—created in virtual reality—did not include headstones, funeral processions, or other features of a cemetery, instead depicting a park-like landscape.”
The plaintiffs argue that while a cemetery is a legitimate public facility, the company was obligated to disclose its planned location. “Some people would not agree to live next to a cemetery; parents might consider it unsuitable for raising children; and others might prefer not to hear funeral announcements or see processions outside their homes,” the suit says. “These are material considerations in purchasing a home, and Gindi ignored the buyers’ right to make an informed decision.”
In a letter sent before the lawsuit, Gindi reportedly said the Or Yehuda municipality only published its plan for the cemetery in late March 2023, long after most of the apartments had been sold. But the plaintiffs claim that some buyers signed contracts even after that date and were not informed either.
According to the lawsuit, an updated printed rendering of the project dated April 2025 shows that, “to the best of our knowledge, for the first time—Gindi marked the area of the cemetery.”
The plaintiffs, who purchased 55 apartments between April 2022 and September 2023, are seeking NIS 100,000 ($26,000) in damages for emotional distress for each apartment, among other compensation.
Gindi Holdings said in response that the lawsuit has not yet been received by the company. “At the time most of the apartments were marketed and sold, in March 2022, the company had no knowledge of the municipality’s intention to build a cemetery in the Neve Ayalon neighborhood,” the company said. “The plan was made public only in March 2023, about a year after sales began, and the city did not update the company.
“In any case, the cemetery is several hundred meters away from the project, separated by roads and future buildings,” the statement added. “The company acts in good faith and with transparency toward its customers and bears no responsibility for the residents’ claims.”