When HKBH performs personal miracles, it is a mitzvah to publicize them. This is especially after a difficult ordeal and after much supplication – tefillos, Tehillim, segulos, Kosel, Kivrei Tzadikim, tzedakah, brachos from live Tzadikim, you name it. My miracle happened, so I have come to publicize it.
I don’t want to overdramatize. Baruch Hashem, it was not a health issue. There was never any threat of to life or limb. Nor was it a social issue like machlokes or shalom bayis, Ch”V. It was purely financial. But money makes the world go round and a neis is a neis. It still needs to be talked about, especially when one is trying to pick my pockets for money that isn’t there and isn’t letting go.
The difficult part lasted 3 ½ months. Then came the miracle. I will never know what remedial action(s) tipped the scale but, when it happened, it happened faster than I could have hoped. When we say “Yeshuos Hashem K’Heref Ayin” (the salvation of G-d can take place in the blink of an eye), it is no exaggeration.
The only thing is that, as of this writing, the ordeal has not been fully resolved. It is like when Haman was suddenly hanged at the darkest hour. It was our first geulah, but this did not yet totally nullify the harsh decree and resolve our problem. Likewise, I got the “demise” of Haman which, [co]incidentally, may have occurred on his actual yahrtzeit, but I still need to nullify the main problem. I hope this happens just as fast.
The Back Story
The story is that I am having an ongoing feud with the Jerusalem municipality, the Iriya, regarding property tax payments, arnona. I am blessed with a large family, and accordingly, I managed to acquire a larger than average apartment. I have been financially strapped for quite some time, partly due to being unemployed (that’ll do it for anyone), and amplified by having to maintain a large family and a larger than average apartment.
The Iriya has a system to give discounts on arnona for financially strapped residents, to which I have duly qualified over the past ten years. These discounts, by default, only apply to the first 100 square meters of the dwelling. It doesn’t matter how many family members live in the apartment to get the discount for the first 100 sq. meters but on-hand family size does play a role to determine if you meet the threshold for low income. The more family members that actually live in the apartment, the higher the threshold for low income since it is calculated per person.
Now, there is a strange arnona rule that has no basis in logic: One cannot get a discount in a larger-than-average apartment (more than 160 sq. Meters), even if they are legitimately financially strapped, unless one has a way larger than average family.
As I wrote before, I happen to have a way larger than average family and so I have this larger than average size apartment. And I am legitimately financially strapped. From my perspective, there is no reason not to receive the discount on the first 100 sq. meters. Not only that, but I have successfully applied and received the discount year after year since about 2013 (I bought this large apartment in 2012 when I really needed it).
The value of the discount over the past few years was between 11,000-12,000 NIS. This inches up every year because it is a percentage of the base arnona price, which is raised every year.
This arrangement was going well up to and including 2022. Throughout these years, several family members married and/or moved out but they are still my kids. Remember that for an average size apartment, for the first 100 meters, it makes no difference how many people are actually living in the apartment.
The Initial Tremors
Unexpectedly, in 2023, the Iriya decided to reject my application for a discount. Their one-line excuse was that the apartment is over 160 sq. meters. This is strange because it was the same size the year before and likewise ever since we bought it.
I immediately called an acquaintance who has connections and he advised me to contact Aryeh King. Aryeh King put me in touch with an official I will call Meir. I had several extended WhatsApp chats with Meir. Meir indicated the he filed on my behalf a request to the Hanacha Dept. for a review. He later said that he got feedback that my rejection was a mistake and it was now rectified. Except… that there is some malfunction with the Iriya computer system so it won’t show right away.
Based on this information, I coasted along waiting for an updated message from the Iriya. Several times when I contacted them, I was told that there is a technical problem with their computerized system and the matter is still “under evaluation”. Until that point, I had paid the Iryiya more than half of the projected discounted price. But when I heard that the system is broken and that my status is in limbo, I stopped any further payments. I didn’t want to sink money into a non-functional system.
I spent the rest of 2023 and the beginning of 2024 just waiting to receive an updated accounting, but it never happened. Sometime in March 2024, I applied again for the discount for the new year. Nowadays, this must be done every year. I figured that this year I would not have trouble getting the discount since the message from Meir was that the previous year was all a mistake, just that it wasn’t processed. I expected it to get processed now for both years. Throughout this time, I wasn’t paying.
In April 2024, I received an official rejection for the discount citing the same excuse. I again contacted Meir and he filed on my behalf a request for a review. I awaited a response and the matter simmered for almost six months until Nov. 2024. I then received another rejection, but this time, they fine-tuned their excuse. They wrote that the apartment is beyond 160 sq. meters and that the extended amount of family members that are required are not all living in the apartment.
The stipulation that all the family members need to be living in the apartment did not make any sense to me for several reasons. I will not elaborate on them, but in a nutshell, it is illogical, unrealistic and discriminatory. The discriminatory issue is the most important one. I wanted to challenge it.
All this time, I had still not submitted any further payments. I had also received notices from the Iriya about being delinquent in payments, but all this time, I was trying to resolve the discount issue so I could not comply with payment.
I promptly contacted Meir who was back from miluim but not at his office. He suggested that I go down physically to the Iriya. About two weeks later I asked Meir to provide me with the exact text of the arnona regulations. He didn’t do it. I then contacted the Iriya directly to send me the exact text of the regulations to confirm the unrealistic stipulation. I received it about Dec. 11, 2024. It says that a larger than average apartment must be in the possession of a family with a certain minimum of family members (quite a number) but it did not say that they all need to be living there. As I said, such a thing would be unreasonable and discriminatory.
About one week later I went personally to the Iriya and I showed them the regulations and told them it does not say that all the family members need to be living there. They very firmly told me that this is what it means. I told them it cannot mean that, and they said, well, it does.
I asked them how can I submit a request to a formal appeal in front of a neutral panel or court? Their answer was to go online and submit a request to a destination called “Pniyot Hatzibur” (Inquiries of the Public). I said that I already did that and the system only allows me to file directly to the Hanacha Dept. The woman said, “No, there is an option for only Pniyot Hatzibur that is not the Hanacha Dept.”
I went home and accessed the website and saw an almost hidden link to Pniyot Hatzibur. I wrote my case and explained why I should qualify for the discount by having the required large family and that the language of the law does not indicate that all the family members need to be living in the apartment. At the end of this statement, I wrote that if the Iriya does not agree with me, I insist on the matter going to a neutral panel (or a judge in court, if necessary).
On Dec. 18, the Iriya acknowledged my inquiry and gave it Inquiry #2412-6476074. They said they will respond within 21 business days (i.e., a month). At some point in this timeline I told my wife that the Iriya is being obstinate but they haven’t cracked down on me for payment. The only way I can sue them in a court for the discount is as a response to being prosecuted. Until they crack down on me, there is nothing I can do.
The Earthquake
Well, on Dec. 30, which is after I formally requested a third-party appeal and before I received a response to my inquiry, the Iriya cracked down. They declared a lien on my assets and froze my Israeli bank accounts. I didn’t know it until a few days later when I tried to do some banking. The banks told me I was under Ikul (a lien on the accounts). This came from the banks but not from the Iriya. I finally did receive a notice from the Iriya in the mail a few weeks later.
As to be expected, the amount of the lien was the full amount that the Iriya wanted for the two years plus penalties for lateness. It was for a bit over NIS 41,000. My calculation was that from the discounted price minus the amount I initially paid in, I should be owing approximately NIS 17,000. Our discrepancy in dispute for these two years is now at about NIS 24,000. I already applied for the discount for 2025 and am waiting to see the results. Assuming that there is no change, the discrepancy jumps another NIS 12,000.
It's not just that it is NIS 36,000 that I prefer not to part with, it is NIS 36,000 that I don’t have. Period. The only moral way to get it would be to sponge off generous relatives for a long-term unsecured loan or a handout. I really don’t want to go that route. I don’t want to take anybody’s money for expenses that I don’t believe are legitimate in the first place.
An Ikul is a total nightmare and causes total paralysis. I certainly did not want this Ikul, but still it was the move I needed to enable me to fight City Hall. I felt that not only am I in the right about the discount, but that, from the perspective of the Iriya, the Ikul is totally illegal. This is because the discrepancy money is officially under dispute. In a civil society, money that is under dispute cannot be collected by enforcement until the debt is confirmed by a court.
On Jan. 14, 2025, I wrote a new inquiry complaining that the Ikul is illegal since I previously requested a neutral appeal. This was sent as an inquiry to the Rosh HaIr (mayor). I received a confirmation that my inquiry is registered in the Collections Dept. as Inquiry #2501-6586443.
On Jan. 20, I received a response from the Hanacha Dept. which officially addressed Inquiry #2501-6586443. The Iriya doubled down on its position and wrote (emphasis mine – YH):
Further to the Discounts Department's response dated January 19, 2025, we would like to clarify once again that according to the State Economy Arrangements Regulations, 1993, an apartment with an area of over 160 square meters will not be granted a discount unless the property is occupied by a family with X or more children. The meaning of the word "occupied" in the context of your request for a discount is that the X number of children "occupy" the property, meaning that they physically reside in the property, and not that the family has X children.
Although they are obstinate, their letter actually helps my position. Here they are clearly admitting that the law does not say outright that all the children of the family must live there. This is merely the “meaning” or their interpretation. They call this “the context”. They also did not bring any other clauses from the law nor any logical arguments that support their interpretation.
In the course of all this, my Google searches discovered that there is indeed an official system to demand a neutral appeal panel on an Arnona issue. In order to access the appeal panel, one must first file an “Objection” (Hasagah). This objection is assigned a reference number. If the objection is overruled, one can file for an appeal hearing but he must reference the Hasagah number.
I tried to file a Hasagah, but in the online system, they display a few limited choices for grounds for the Hasagah. Some examples are that you want to contest the registered size of the property or that you want to claim that you are not the party responsible for paying the arnona. The option to contest a rejection for a Hanacha was not on the list and there was no option for “None of the above” or “Other”.
Well, I thought I would fudge it and choose the option for “Size of Property” and just type in my arguments for getting the discount in free text in the box that requests your case in free text. So I did.
Within 24 hours I received a reply from the Iriya which said that I am not eligible to file a Hasagah for my case because this is not one of the topics that is eligible for a Hasagah. Go figure! I did not even get a number and, as such, I was blocked from filing for an appeal.
This was it. The gloves are off. I can no longer work with the Iriya so I am forced to work against them. Not my choice.
My Course of Action
On the spiritual side of things, I enlisted HKBH. I added something in Shemona Esreh and took on Chapter 35 in Tehillim. I also implemented the Rabi Matya ben Charash segulah and maybe some others, Kivrei Tzaddikim including a kvittel to Reb Shayele in Kerestir, consultation with an Admor, a few of my last shekels to Tzedaka and, of course, the Kosel. In addition, my wife, who is the real tzadeikes, did her part as well. I also suddenly remembered that it’s been a while since I checked my tefillin. They were fine.
On the down-to-earth side of things, I consulted several lawyers. First, I spoke with some that I was friends with to get free advice. Most said they are not familiar with these types of cases. Yet, some “knew people” at the Iriya. Nothing came of it. I also contacted an organization dedicated to helping English speaking olim and residents navigate the Israeli bureaucracy called Chaim V’Chessed. They had no real advice for me. They couldn’t even point me to a suitable lawyer for this.
Then, I looked up some lawyers that I did not know, but who seemed to deal in these types of matters. Most of them wished me luck but were not optimistic. Nobody argued my stance that there is ill logic and discrimination in the way the Iriya reads the law, but they said that the courts would probably accept their position regardless. I did find one lawyer who would take the case for about NIS 15,000 plus VAT. Others wouldn’t take it at all.
I thought it was worthwhile to pay this lawyer and fight the case, but I needed financing for this. Ironically, some generous relatives who were willing to put up some money to help me pay off the Iriya were not willing to give me anything for a lawyer. They also thought I don’t stand a chance in court and that the money would go to waste.
I thought that caving to the Iriya is a bigger waste of money. I feel that (a) I am on the moral high ground, (b) the chances of winning are always not less than 50/50 – either I’ll win the case, or I won’t, (c) in case I do win the case, I can expect to be compensated for legal expenses, (d) as I wrote above, I enlisted HKBH.
First Miracle
There is a Jewish saying that I have genuinely come to appreciate: Don’t tell HKBH how big your problems are. Instead, tell your problems how big HKBH is.
After about six weeks of trying to find a decent lawyer and then trying to find the money for him, and coming up empty on the money side, I tried a bold move. I applied to the legal system for legal aid (free representation). I was not very optimistic about succeeding in this venture but, BE”H, succeed I did.
I was approved for legal aid and, I suppose based on my personal information, I was assigned to a chareidi lawyer who happens to live right in my neighborhood. I will call him Shimon. Legal aid means that I now have a lawyer to help me fight the case in court and it won’t cost me a nickel. Not only that, but the Israeli government is paying my lawyer to fight the Iryia (city government)!
Needless to say, I was very encouraged by the miraculous nature of this first development. I saw it as a sign from HKBH that something will work out. Shimon, on the other hand, was not very excited. He was in no way enthusiastic about my case. Like the others, he didn’t think I stood much of a chance. He also wasn’t certain that working on a case like mine is covered by the legal aid system. He also said that he does not have much expertise in this field and wanted to try to pass my case off to somebody else. He did everything to brush me off and all this ate up more precious time while suffering the Ikul.
A real team player.
I was spurred on by the fact that I had gotten this far with legal aid and was not about to give up or let Shimon off the hook. Truth be told, he is a very nice person. So, while he was trying to discourage me, he did not really want to let me down. He explained that the only way to file a complaint in court is to the Machozi (District Court). The lower courts do not handle this. The other lawyers told me this as well. Then Shimon told me that there is a procedure. The Machozi will not hear a case if it hasn’t already gone to the Municipal Appeal panel.
I told him, “Been there, done that. They already blocked me with the Hasagah and I have their letter to prove it.”
“This is because you went through the online digital system. You need to go directly to the Appeal Panel.”
“Huh?? Go directly to the appeal panel? How do I do this?”
“Either you email them straight or hand deliver your complaint.”
“Fine, how do I do this?”
“I’ll get back to you.”
It took about two weeks of constant reminders. But, at long last, he emailed me a simple email address: vaadotarar@jerusalem.muni.il.
Is that it? Why did that take so long?
It didn’t take me 24 hours to compose the text of the complaint. All I needed to do was to spruce up the language of the previous inquiries. I checked it with the lawyer and I polished the Hebrew with the assistance of one of my kids and out it went. At the close of the email to the Vaad, I wrote in red text to please confirm the receipt of this inquiry. All this took until April 3, 2025. Just a bit more than a week before Pesach.
The Second Miracle – The Big One
At this point, it helps to recap the dispute. The Iriya maintains that I must pay the full arnona price for the years 2023-24. Their calculation, including penalties, was upwards of NIS 41,000. As such, they placed a lien on my assets for that amount. I maintain that I qualify for the discounts which should put the unpaid amount at about NIS 17,000. As such there is no dispute over the lower amount, so a lien for that amount would be justified, but not for more. The discrepancy is about NIS 24,000 (USD $6,700).
Throughout this ordeal, I never dreamt that I could ever get out of the lien without paying out at least the non-disputed amount. Such would be totally unrealistic. I only think I should not be paying more than that. But HKBH is gracious and can do the unrealistic.
After I sent out the email with the complaint to the Appeal Committee, I had no idea what to expect. At worst, I might be totally ignored or receive a letter that I am not entitled to such an appeal. Then I would need to go to court.
On a more reasonable level, I expected to at least get a confirmation from the Iriya about the complaint and that they are “looking into it”. Perhaps, it would come with an invitation to a hearing on some designated futuristic date.
On the optimistic side of the spectrum was the remote possibility that I would receive a notice that the Appeals Committee considered my arguments written in the complaint and will grant me the discounts even without a hearing. Of course, even in such a rosy scenario, at best, the lien would be lowered to the non-disputed amount which will need to be paid or secured. And I thought that all this would take weeks, maybe months.
None of these happened. What did happen?
Firstly, between April 3 and the commencement of Pesach (April 12) I did not receive any response from the Appeal Committee whatsoever. Not a grumble. Then, on the first day of Chol Hamoed Pesach, which in Israel is Nissan 16 (April 14), which I believe is the date when Haman went swinging, I received an SMS text from one of the two affected banks. The text read as follows:
Shalom. For your information, the lien in your name applied by the Iriya of Jerusalem Arnona dept. for case #xxxx and motion #xxxx has been cancelled. The cancellation relates to the lien that was assessed on 12/30/2024 for the amount of NIS 41,771.66. Be advised, if there are no other liens, all the restrictions that apply will be removed. Always at your service, Bank X.
What on earth? On Chol Hamoed?
But so it was. The lien was gone. No court case, no appeals hearing, not a penny to a lawyer and not even any arrangement for payment of the non-disputed amount. Gone!
I immediately tried to execute an electronic transfer which was a restricted action until now. I succeeded. I did not receive any notice from the other bank, but I checked my online account and, likewise, all the restrictions were off. Just like that.
On Chol Hamoed! The yahrtzeit of Haman Harasha!
What precisely happened at the Iriya? Was it my unacknowledged complaint? Was it received? Was it seen? Did it strike a chord? With whom? Why should it, all of a sudden? Was it not that but something else?
How is it that over all these months (years?), not a single person told me that I have a recourse to file a complaint with the city Appeal Committee? Not Meir who was assisting me, nor any other city official, nor anybody from the Chaim V’Chessed organization, and not any of several lawyers? Even Shimon only came up with it after weeks of wrangling. And he didn’t even write up or file the complaint, I did. It doesn’t even need a lawyer!
This could only be the Hand of G-d.
Like most religious Israeli residents, I try always to get to the Kosel on one of the days of Chol Hamoed. When I did it this year, I made sure to say Nishmas Kol Chai.
What now?
So, this is the story of my great miracle from HKBH. But there is more to come.
I remarked at the beginning of this post that the issue has not come any closer to being resolved. The lien is off and, for now, that’s it. The second day after Pesach ended, I contacted Shimon to tell him the good news and to ask his opinion on what to do next. He wished me Mazal Tov and told me, just as I expected, to just sit tight and wait and let the Iriya make the next move. It is now the first week of May and just over a full month from when I sent my complaint. I am still waiting.
So I hope this all comes to a happy ending and I have every reason to be optimistic. I don’t believe that HKBH wants His miracles to go to waste.
הודו לה' כי טוב, כי לעולם חסדו.
לעושה נפלאות גדולות לבדו, כי לעולם חסדו.
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