Pal-Kal Ceiling Incident Scares Rabinovitch Group off Rehovot Mall Deal

"Partners in the Rabinovitch group have refused to take part in the deal to acquire 50% of the Rehovot Mall, after they learned that the mall has a Pal-Kal ceiling. At the same time, banks are hesitating to provide financial coverage for the deal, because of both the ceiling and the high 81% coverage rate required. Nitsba Holdings (TASE: NTBA) said in response that the Pal-Kal ceiling had been repaired and replaced, and the building was 100% safe.

The controversial Pal-Kal ceiling-floor system was invented as a cost-cutting method in the 1980s by then Public Works Department (PWD) chief structural engineer Eli Ron. The system substitutes the conventional steel beam, rebar, and concrete slab floor-ceiling structure with long corrugated tin boxes encased in a concrete web, sandwiched between rebar, and concrete slabs. However, flaws in the concrete casting may cause cracking and corrosion. Pal-Kal was cited as the cause of the collapse of the floor of the Versailles Wedding Hall in Jerusalem on May 24, 2001, which caused the deaths of 23 people, and injured 380.

In July 2001, a crack appeared in the acoustic ceiling of the Rehovot Mall, which is made from Pal-Kal. The mall was closed for three hours, and engineer Uri Kotai of Kotai UBG Building Engineer Ltd. determined that part of the roof constituted a danger to the public. In June 2001, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd. (TASE: CLIS) filed a NIS 3.25 million claim against Ron. The claim asserted that cracks had been discovered in the concrete ceiling, and that other damage was present in the mall..."

Source: Elazar Levin. Pal-Kal ceiling incident scares Rabinovitch group off Rehovot Mall deal. The banks are thought to be hesitant to provide financial coverage. Globes Online (27 Dec 2004) [FullText]

Also see: Elazar Levin. Shurka, Rabinovitch buy 50% of Rehovot MallEfraim Shurka and Yair Rabinovitch have already bought a housing block leased to new immigrants through the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, and supermarkets. Globes Online (26 Dec 2004) [FullText]

Current Unemployment Rate in Rehovot

"Unemployment is stable. The number of job seekers reached approximately 230,000, seasonally-adjusted, in November, the same as in September-October, Israel National Employment Service director-general Esther Dominicini said today.

Original figures indicate 231,800 job seekers in November, an increase of 3,100 people, mainly due to lay-offs after the Jewish High Holy Days, mostly by retail chains and hotels.

The number of job seekers in November fell 1.8%, or 4,168 people, compared with November 2003, but was still 24.8% higher, compared with November 2002, an increase of 45,775 people.

The number of job seekers with higher degrees fell by 3.5%, or 571 people, in November. There was no change in the number of ordinary unemployed. The number of job seekers with higher degrees fell by 11%, or 1,978 people, compared with November 2003. The number of ordinary unemployed fell by 12%, or 10,438 people, compared with November 2003...

Lower than average unemployment rates were recorded in Rehovot - 5.7%; Jerusalem - 4.7%; and Tel Aviv, Dan region, and the southern Sharon - 4.1%."

Source: Zeev Klein. Nov job-seeker numbers unchanged at 230,000. The number of job seekers in November fell 1.8%, compared with November 2003. Globes Online (22 Dec 2004) [FullText]

The real minimum wage

Leading text: "The storefront at 110 Herzl in Rishon Lezion doesn't have a sign, but it is the Afikei Lapid security company, and I'm looking for Eran Ya'acobi, a family man said to be in his 30s who drives a jeep and lives in a big house in Moshav Beit Eliezrie.

The Labor Ministry is preparing to indict Ya'acobi for violations of the minimum wage law at one of his previous security companies, Hadar Bitachon in Rehovot. Thirteen of Ya'acobi's former security guards have filed complaints against him with the Labor Ministry, saying he stiffed them out of tens of thousands of shekels, promising to pay them for months on end but delivering mainly bounced checks. The Labor Ministry suspects there are many more embittered ex-workers of Ya'acobi's where those 13 came from...

The Labor Ministry's surveys show that 5 percent of salaried Israeli workers ? 125,000 people, not counting foreign workers ? get paid less than the legal minimum wage, which stands at NIS 3,335 a month. The Bank of Israel's surveys, however, say the number of Israeli victims of illegally low wages is actually two to three times higher than the Labor Ministry's estimate..."

Source: Larry Derfner. The real minimum wage. The Jerusalem Post (29 Dec 2004) [FullText]

Will Municipal Property Tax (Arnona) Change?

Prior to the beginning of the new fiscal year, the Rehovot Municipality was considering to increase the Municipal Property Tax (Arnona) by 10% in some areas of Rehovot (Areas "Bet").

The rationale for such increase was the significant difference in the Arnona levels between city areas labelled "Aleph" and "Bet". This gap could reach several hundreds of Shekels in Arnona for apartments of identical size in different town areas. The city Administration decided to bridge the gap - not by decreasing the Arnona in areas "Aleph", but by increasing it in areas "Bet", the homes of many families with low-to-moderate income, including religious communities with large families and many new immigrant families (olim chadashim).

No wonder such a decision caused a storm of reaction from both deputies of the City Council (advocating for the interest of their body of electors), and residents of the areas where Arnona increase would be implemented.

The last meeting of the City Council, where this matter was scheduled for discussion, took place in a very tense environment. The meeting was held in the presence of residents who live in these areas. The residents commented on the situation and actively expressed their feelings, resulting in some of them being forced to leave the meeting.

Rehovot Mayor, Shuki Forer, who should have brought the matter to a vote, was not successful in aligning his allies (including all representatives of religious fractions and the opposition) to form a majority. Therefore, the Mayor did not have chance to have his proposal accepted. As a result, the question of Municipal Property Tax (Arnona) was removed from the municipal agenda, probably till the end of 2005 when it can be raised again.

The only change which was introduced on the issue of Arnona payment, applies only to residents who pay by automatic bank transfer "hora'at keva". Up until now the saving on such way of payment was three percent. In the future the saving will be half the present rate (i.e. 1.5%).

Original Russian Text: A passion of Municipal Property Tax. Rehovot.Jnews.co.il (3 December 2004) [FullText].

Related publication: Shmuel Dekalo. Rehovot wants Weizmann Institute to pay local taxes. Globes Online (25 April 2004) [FullText].

Rehovot school guard quizzed over cell phone thefts

Leading text: "A 24-year-old security guard at a Rehovot high school was questioned yesterday for allegedly commissioning the thefts of cellular phones by students at the school. Six youths from Rehovot were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly stealing cell phones from their friends. When questioned, a few of them implicated the security guard, who admitted the crimes. Police have released everyone involved but the guard will be indicted in the coming days... "

Source: Yuval Azoulay. School guard quizzed over cell phone thefts. Haaretz.com News in brief. (10 Dec 2004, Kislev 27, 5765) p. 05 [FullText]

Hygienic standards for food fair at the Rehovot mall

Excerpt: "The [food] fair at the Rehovot mall is being run reasonably. A few deficiencies in the way food was being kept were corrected in keeping with demands relayed to the hygiene adviser who was on hand at our request," the spokesperson continued..."

The management of the Rehovot mall: "The food fair operates under a business license and meets all the criteria set by the authorities. The fair is also approved and supervised by the Rehovot bureau of the Health Ministry. Surprise inspections are conducted quite often by the bureau's inspectors. The fair operates under the close and regular supervision of the A. Rotem food and hygiene inspection company, and reports and tests are sent weekly to the Rehovot health bureau. Haaretz's check found just two irregularities. The microbiology tests were repeated at the Gourmet Kfar and if there are irregularities its participation in the fair will be terminated. Cactus Ma'adanim no longer has a displays at the fair..."

Source: Dafna Lutzky. Health Ministry also finds flaws at Dizengoff Center. Haaretz.com (29 Nov 2004, Kislev 16, 5765) [FullText]

High Court Asked to Block Rehovot Yeshiva

Leading text: "The Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC) has petitioned the High Court of Justice to block the construction of a yeshiva for adults in a secular neighborhood of Rehovot four years after the court first ruled against its construction.Attorneys Orly Erez-Lachovsky and Einat Horowitz submitted the petition on behalf of 69 residents of the Ramat Yigal neighborhood and nearby inhabitants and the two Shinui city council members.

They charged that the city had allocated the same plot of land to the non-profit organization Hilchot Hayim to build the yeshiva that it had granted them in the late 1990s. At that time, the neighborhood residents had only learned about the allocation in March 1999, when construction got under way on the plot.

IRAC then petitioned the court against the allocation on behalf of neighborhood residents and the non-profit organization Am Hofshi. In August 2000, the High Court accepted the petition and canceled the city's allocation. It ruled that when a city allocates land earmarked for public use to a private institution without a tender and without demanding payment, it must first "examine the public needs of the community living in the area where the plot of land is located"... "

Source: Dan Izenberg. High Court asked to block Rehovot yeshiva. The Jerusalem Post Print edition (2 Decemberf 2004) p. 05 [FullText]

Rehovot Wants Weizmann Institute to Pay Local Taxes

Excerpt: "The Rehovot municipality petitioned the High Court of Justice last week to order Minister of the Interior Avraham Poraz to cancel the Weizmann Institute's longstanding exemption from municipal property taxes. The municipality petitioned to prevent changes in the criteria that would further exempt Weizmann Institute from municipal taxes.

The petition states that in February 2003, the High Court of Justice ruled in favor of the Rehovot municipality and ordered the Ministry of the Interior to reconsider Weizmann Institute's exemption from municipal taxes, and to set criteria for exemptions from municipal taxes.

The Rehovot municipality claims that in the 14 months since the ruling, the Ministry of the Interior had not reviewed Weizmann Institute's eligibility for an exemption.

The municipality claims that it is absurd that the Weizmann Institute's NIS 660 million budget is 45% larger than the municipality's. The municipality claims to have a budget deficit of NIS 49 million and a cumulative deficit of NIS 130 million. It claims that Weizmann Institute should pay NIS 35 million a year in municipal taxes, which would cover two-thirds of the municipality's deficit. "

Source: Shmuel Dekalo and Globes' correspondent. Rehovot wants Weizmann Institute to pay local taxes. Globes Online (25 April 2004) [FullText]