The State Ombudsman in Israel 2015

There are several governmental agencies that deal directly with a citizen and their rights.

Whenever a citizen feels harmed by any government institution, such as Bituach Leumi (National Insurance), City Hall, etc they have the right — and I emphasize, even the duty — to file their claim with the appropriate state institution.

One of the most unpleasant characteristics of governmental ministries and institutions is the fact that either they do not respond at all, respond in a less than timely manner or only respond after several letters and complaints. The law stipulates a deadline of 14 days for a citizen to receive a response. Of course, the institution cannot always finish their analysis and provide a response before that deadline. If this is the case, the institution is required to respond that it is studying the matter and that the final answer will be sent after the analysis is.

In case the citizen does not receive a satisfactory response, they may complain to the State Ombudsman (in Hebrew, Mevaker Hamedina), who then turns to the relevant institution. The response then is usually very fast.

The percentage of cases that, in the end, are considered justified for the Ombudsman’s involvement is higher than 20%, and this number has been increasing. In 2007, 8,569 were received, 1,815 of which were considered justified for intervention. In 2014 a total of 16,000 new cases were open, 4,800 of which were considered justified for intervention

Make use of this service if you deem it necessary. It is free and by using it you will be helping each other and contributing to improve the services rendered to the citizens of the state.

Addresses and Business Hours of the units of the State Ombudsman on their site (which at the time of this publication is located here).