State Workers Union Chairman Ofir Alkalay objected to Tax Authority staff returning to Bnei Brak till their protection is assured, Ynet reported on Sunday.
Mayor Zeibert, who had to start with evaded publicly condemning the assaults, issued his first remark at the incident following the assembly.
“There is no place for violence in the city of Torah and Hasidism, whose ways are ways of pleasantness,” he stated. “Public employees, including Tax Authority employees, carry out their work faithfully in Bnei Brak, just as they do in every city in the country.”
The assembly was once additionally attended by way of Senior Deputy Director for Buyer Provider David Rotenberg, Senior Deputy Director for Evaluation and Auditing Ruby Botbol, and Municipal Director Normal Rabbi Yisrael Ehrenstein.
Alkalay stated union representatives weren’t provide on the assembly and expressed doubt that the assurances would ensure staff’ protection.
“A publicized meeting with the mayor still does not guarantee the safety of Tax Authority employees,” he stated. “Unfortunately, no discussion was held with the employees’ representatives on the matter, and another attack could take place as soon as tomorrow.
Alkalay said employees would not return to work in Bnei Brak until clear measures were put in place to ensure their safety while carrying out their duties.
Tax Authority employees were violently assaulted by a mob in Bnei Brak’s Kiryat Vizhnitz neighborhood numbering in the hundreds on the afternoon of July 16 while carrying out enforcement activities in the city.
Aharonovich sent a sharply worded letter to Mayor Zeibert the following day, ordering the suspension of war damage claim processing in the city until Bnei Brak’s leadership publicly and unequivocally condemned the attacks.
In its reporting, Ynet obtained messages revealing that Thursday’s attack was not a spontaneous incident but rather a deliberate act by residents against Tax Authority employees.
As the employees entered the neighborhood, Hasidic residents received a recorded warning via a telephone hotline: “Unwanted guests are walking around.”
Any other message stated: “To manage the campaign in the neighborhood, yeshiva students who can come urgently are needed. Unwanted guests are currently walking around Kiryat Melech Rav. The public is asked not to cooperate and not to answer questions. From good to good.”
The Workers Union stated the Tax Authority’s resolution to renew services and products following the assembly was once unacceptable and that workers would no longer go back to Bnei Brak in the meanwhile.
