"Economic disaster": Ministry of Interior in a sharp appeal to the Bnei Brak Municipality

The Ministry of Interior has contacted the Bnei Brak Municipality following a severe budget deficit, demanding that local authorities take immediate action to reduce the deficit and achieve a balanced budget by the end of the year. The Ministry clarified that the city's budgetary situation requires urgent intervention and warned that if the municipality fails to meet the target, the Ministry may take further measures.

In response, the Bnei Brak Municipality stated that the letter was not issued in coordination with municipal management. The municipality asserted that it will finish the year with a financial balance within the approved framework. It was further noted that the city is currently executing large-scale infrastructure and sanitation projects amounting to hundreds of millions of shekels, all under strict budgetary controls implemented recently.

Yaakov Wieder, a member of the Bnei Brak City Council, issued a sharp response:

"The Ministry of Interior confirms today everything I said: the Bnei Brak municipal functionaries have led the city to an economic disaster and a huge deficit of tens of millions of shekels! Zibert, Shapira, Silman, and the municipal functionaries manage the city with recklessness and in complete detachment from reality—jobs for cronies, schemes, and meals at 3,000 shekels a day. For years they managed to hide the real data, until I arrived at the city council and turned on the light. After my countless appeals, even the Ministry of Interior, led by Shas, could no longer close its eyes to the extreme economic catastrophe."

Wieder demanded that "the correction must begin with the cancellation of all crony appointments and schemes, alongside opening the city's books for a strict audit." He emphasized that budget cuts must not come at the expense of Bnei Brak residents, who pay high Arnona taxes and suffer from a non-functioning municipality.