Following the struggle of Yaakov Wider, a member of the Bnei Brak City Council, and the article published in Kan News - which revealed the alleged and serious misuse of public funds for political purposes, a petition was filed with the High Court of Justice today (Tuesday) against Bnei Brak Mayor Hanoch Seibert.
The petition seeks to order the imposition of a personal charge on Mayor Seibert, his deputy, and the city treasurer, for financing a political event with public funds, amounting to hundreds of thousands of shekels.
The petition was submitted by the Movement for Quality Government, demanding that the Interior Ministry activate the personal charging mechanism against the three senior officials, for spending 104,000 shekels from the municipality's coffers to finance an event that was presented as a "preparatory event for the Seder Night" - but was in essence a Shas conference.
The event, which took place in April 2024, was presented to the public as a municipal cultural event - invitations were sent with the symbols of the municipality and the Culture Department, and tickets were distributed from the Deputy Mayor's office. However, the Shas party logo appeared on the invitation and the decor in the hall, the main speakers were senior party officials - led by MK Aryeh Deri and Minister Uriel Bosso - and the content of the speeches dealt with the activities of the faction and the party.
The mayor himself declared from the stage that "the municipality and my friends in the Shas faction will hold additional events for yeshiva students.".
The petition states: "This is also a serious omission by the Ministry of the Interior. The movement contacted the ministry as early as January 2025 with a request to activate the personal charging procedure, and attached a comprehensive evidentiary infrastructure and detailed legal reasoning. Since then, over the course of almost a year, seven reminder letters have been sent - but the ministry has not responded to the substance of the matter. The movement claims that this prolonged silence actually constitutes a decision to refuse without reasons, in violation of the administrative obligation to act with due speed.".
Yaakov Wider, a member of the city council: "I will continue the fight against the squalor and decay in the Bnei Brak municipality. The activists will have to get used to the fact that the celebration is over and that the residents' money is no longer wasted.".
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