Tax Authority freezes Bnei Brak war compensation claims after attacks on staff

Israel Tax Authority director Shay Aharonovich says he has ordered the authority’s compensation fund to immediately stop processing war damage compensation claims for residents of the largely ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak until the city’s leadership publicly condemns recent attacks on Tax Authority employees.

The central city of Bnei Brak was the target of several Iranian missile attacks, both during the war earlier this year and last year’s 12-day war, causing widespread damage to civilian infrastructure.

In a letter to Bnei Brak Mayor Hanoch Zeibert, Aharonovich says Tax Authority employees who arrived in the city yesterday were “violently attacked” by hundreds of people while carrying out their duties and had to be rescued by Israel Police. He notes that the incident came just a week after another alleged assault on Tax Authority employees in the city.

Videos circulating online documenting one of the incidents show crowds of Haredi men surrounding and throwing projectiles at a civilian vehicle, presumably with Tax Authority employees inside, as police officers attempt to help the driver navigate to safety.

בצעד חריג רשות המסים מקפיאה את הסיוע לתושבי בני ברק שביתם נפגע במלחמת איראן, בעקבות תקיפת פקחי המס בעיר.
מנהל רשות המסים כתב לראש העיר: "עיריית בני ברק לא מצאה לנכון לגנות את האלימות. אין לי אלא להסיק כי עובדי רשות המסים אינם רצויים בעירך. הוריתי לחדול מטיפול בנזקי מלחמה לתושבי… pic.twitter.com/z0DmOY8A6I

— שילה פריד???????? (@shilofreid) July 17, 2026

Aharonovich criticizes the municipality for failing to condemn either incident, writing that he has “no choice but to conclude that Tax Authority employees are not welcome in your city.”

He says he has therefore instructed the Tax Authority to halt all processing of war damage claims submitted by Bnei Brak residents until the municipality issues “an unequivocal statement of condemnation” and publishes it across ultra-Orthodox media.