Tax Authority lifts boycott on Bnei Brak: "Employee entry only with police escort"
First publication: About two weeks after tax inspectors were violently attacked, the Tax Authority has accepted employee demands that operations in Bnei Brak and other high-risk localities will only proceed with prior coordination and police escort. The Tax Authority Director stated: "We will not tolerate any harm to employees while they are performing their duties."
Following the suspension of Tax Authority operations in Bnei Brak—including assistance to residents whose homes were damaged in the war with Iran—the Authority is resuming activities under security measures. This decision follows a violent attack on tax inspectors who arrived in the city approximately two weeks ago.
• Inspectors were attacked in Bnei Brak and required rescue
• Tax Authority operations were frozen due to a "real and immediate threat" to employee lives
• The Tax Authority reached an agreement to return to Bnei Brak, but the Histadrut insisted on safety guarantees
• Key employee demands include salary supplements, insurance, and police escorts
In a letter sent by Tax Authority Director Shay Aharonovich to State Employees Union Chairman Adv. Ofir Alkalai, Aharonovich confirmed that following a meeting with Bnei Brak Police command, an updated security plan has been approved, incorporating all demands from the Histadrut and the Authority’s staff. Aharonovich emphasized that personal safety is the top priority and that the Authority will not tolerate any harm to employees while they are performing their duties.
He clarified that entry into Bnei Brak and other high-risk localities will be conducted solely through prior coordination and with Israel Police escorts to ensure full safety. Furthermore, the Authority is working to reinforce advanced technological security measures, promote a dedicated insurance package for high-risk positions with the Accountant General, and forward salary risk supplement requests to the Wage Commissioner.
The initial incident occurred when Income Tax inspectors conducting a routine inspection were attacked by a local mob. The situation escalated into a siege on their vehicle, resulting in significant damage and a police-led rescue under a barrage of stones. Following the event, Aharonovich sent an unprecedented letter to Mayor Hanoch Zeibert, accusing locals of a "lynching" and criticizing the municipality's silence. He subsequently ordered an immediate halt to all compensation claim processing for city residents affected by the war with Iran.
Despite a later meeting where the mayor disavowed the incident, Tax Authority employees organized under the Histadrut made it clear that operations would not resume without full compliance with their security demands. In a sharp letter to Aharonovich, Alkalai stated that the events "crossed every red line" and warned that the Histadrut would not hesitate to use all organizational, public, and legal means at its disposal to ensure a safe work environment.
