The State Comptroller criticizes the state and states that it does not meet the saturation burial goals set by it • Expect a shortage of future burial places

• Only 21 percent burial is saturated

State Comptroller Netanyahu Engelman criticized the state and the Ministry of Religious Services this afternoon (Monday), stating that they did not meet the saturation targets set by the government, which would lead to a severe shortage of burial places in Israel in the future.

According to the report, about 44,000 people die each year in Israel and are buried in 940 cemeteries with 12,400 dunams. The annual activity of all burial bodies reaches half a billion shekels a year. Despite a lack of burial grounds and government decisions that stipulate that half of the area in the cemeteries will be allocated For actual saturation burial, only 21 percent of the graves were buried in a saturated burial.

As a result, over the next few decades there is a shortage of 1.5 million burial plots in the Tel Aviv and Central districts. It was also determined that although there were construction offenses involving thousands of tomb plots that sometimes invade outside the cemetery areas, the enforcement authorities do not have conclusive information regarding the design and construction crimes related to burial and even when it exists they are few to operate. The situation in the cemeteries in the Judea and Samaria area is particularly bad. Only 12 cemeteries out of the 60 localities examined have been settled and two large settlements were designated - Beitar Illit and Modi'in Illit.

It also shows that 52 percent of cemeteries have no handicapped parking facilities. The Comptroller notes that the upkeep of the ancient cemeteries requires improvement and that the burial bodies did not keep the authority slips away, not even for the minimum period required by the 45-day statute.

In this regard, the Comptroller criticizes the Ministry of Religious Services for not fully implementing the saturation burial. In 17 cemeteries, there was no saturation burial at all, and dozens of burial bodies were operating without a license and not enough was done to enforce the law against these bodies.

Expensive to die

Although most of the land for burial from the end of the state for a symbolic lease fee and although the National Insurance Institute pays "burial fees" to fund burial day expenses and maintenance of the cemetery, the prices of burial plots in Israel are still high and may reach NIS 80,000 for an unusual burial plot, among others Because no fixed and unusual tariff rates are set in the law. The report also stated that the latest welfare ministers did not update the burial fee rates as required by the government decision of May 2013. The report does not refer to the term of Minister Akunis who took office just a month ago.

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The report notes that Social Security has allowed two burial organs holding multiple cemeteries to convert 4,800 lots that were considered desirable but exempt from payment to unusual lots that can be sold at a high price.

Following these findings, the Comptroller states that the Ministry of Religious Services should work to promote the burial services bill and resolve divisions with other ministries on the matter, formulate, in cooperation with enforcement agencies, an action plan to remove unlicensed burial cases and ease the regulatory burden for those seeking a license.

The Comptroller also recommends that the National Insurance Institute order the burial bodies to stop selling unusual plots that are not approved by the rules and assign them as exempt graves and carry out reviews on the subject.

The Comptroller notes that burial bodies must charge "closed, reasonable and proportionate rates," as the case may be.

Social Security Response :

"The social security professional was instructed by the CEO to analyze the findings of the audit, to examine their significance and to formulate a proposal that would allow the burial system to be managed.

"The proposal will provide a professional response to the needs of the parties involved in the field and will optimize the system of supervision and control required in this regard. Among other things, we intend to lead a move, together with the Ministry of Religious Services, to refine the rules governing the determination of the unusual plots, including with regard to the conversion of unusual plots Candy. "

The Ministry of Religious Services' responses and the Office of the Minister of Welfare have not yet been provided.