Subscribe to Print Edition | Thu., August 21, 2008 Av 20, 5768 | | Israel Time: 02:21 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Jerusalem, Dinur to pay NIS 8 million in compensation By Nurit Roth The city of Jerusalem and its former director-general have been ordered to pay NIS 8 million in compensation for negligence in handling a lease agreement. The director-general in question is none other than Ra'anan Dinur, currently the director-general of the Prime Minister's Office, and the compensation goes to the owners of the Sarei Yisrael Hotel. Jerusalem District Court Judge Zvi Zylbertal ruled that the municipality's conduct had been the height of incompetence. Advertisement In 1988, Sarei Yisrael's owners, Y.H.S. Business Consulting and Amior Yeda, offered to lease the property to the city of Jerusalem to serve ultra-Orthodox education institutions. The city wanted the hotel to serve as a respected seminar for Haredi girls and agreed. As pressures from other potential lessees began to mount, the city started pressing the two companies to wrap up the negotiations. Dinur signed a letter to the two companies, confirming he knew they had rejected another candidate to lease the hotel. If for some reason the agreement with the seminar for girls wasn't signed, he wrote, the city would act to find another educational institution to enter the property. Toward the start of the study year 1999 (5758, or tashnat) the seminar's need for accommodation became pressing, and the city's then mayor, Ehud Olmert, also pushed for the negotiations to end. In August 1998, the mayor's aide, Oved Yehezkel (today cabinet secretary) demanded that the seminar be allowed to start fixing up the asset. The companies claimed that in a telephone conversation with Dinur, who was on holiday abroad at the time, he promised that if the seminar didn't ultimately lease the property, the city would make sure to restore it to its prior condition. Later Yehezkel issued a letter to the companies, saying that if no agreement was signed after the renovations began, "the city took responsibility for restoring the building to its prior condition." With the letters in hand, the seminar razed half the hotel. But a week after it began the work, a safety engineer ruled that the property wasn't' suitable for an educational institution and would require considerable investment to make it so. The negotiations fell apart, no deal was signed and the two companies demanded the city restore the property to its former condition. The city did not restore the edifice to its former condition, and the firms sued for NIS 11.5 million. The city and Dinur claimed that the city had only acted a mediator, connecting between the companies and the seminar, and had made no undertakings. Dinur denied that Yehezkel's letter had been sent at his behest. Zylbertal ruled that, in fact, the city had been deeply involved in the negotiations. It had a public and political interest in finding accommodation for the seminar, the judge ruled. He dismissed Dinur's claim that Yehezkel's letter had been written without authorization. Nor did the judge accept Dinur's argument that he hadn't realized the building would not suit an educational institution before the engineer's report. The judge criticized the fact that the seminar was given the nod to raze the building before an engineer had inspected the premises, despite the importance of safety in schools. The city had shown negligence, Zylbertal wrote. It shouldn't have allowed the work to begin until the safety issue was clarified. He ordered NIS 8 million compensation be paid the two firms, plus NIS 850,000 in legal costs. Dinur was at the time an employee of the city so perhaps the city will pay his part. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Tears of joy Shahar Zubari's bronze medal was Israel's first of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. 'Germ of corruption' Mahmoud Ahmadinejad repeats his prediction that Israel will be wiped off the map.

Read & React Olmert: No restraint if Lebanon becomes Hezbollah state Responses: 194 Ex-Mossad chief: Ahmadinejad is Israel's greatest gift Responses: 58 Gaza women training as suicide bombers in case truce ends Responses: 132 Religious modesty guard 'enjoys support of rabbis and police' Responses: 62 More Headlines 23:05 PMO: Hezbollah plans to kidnap Israelis abroad 00:03 On eve of Assad visit to Moscow, Olmert, Medvedev discuss Mideast, Caucasus 22:08 Olmert to Zubari: Your Olympic win brings tears of joy to Israel 22:24 Ahmadinejad: Israel is a germ of corruption that will be removed 00:20 Rice: Russian reaction to U.S.-Polish missile shield agreement bizarre 19:31 Jordan acknowledges holding secret meetings with Hamas 12:39 Religious modesty guard 'enjoys support of rabbis and police' 22:54 West Galilee Hospital's newest donor is a 9-year-old boy 20:08 More than 140 people killed in Madrid plane crash 14:25 Hamas threatens to turn Shalit into 'second Ron Arad' 22:55 Anticipating truce breakdown, Gaza women training as suicide bombers 16:49 Seven-year-old falls off bicycle, dies of head injuries 14:19 Iraq to export oil to Lebanon, under series of upcoming trade deals 15:21 EU boosts aid to Palestinian Authority by an extra 40 million euros Previous Editions Select Day 20 aug 19 aug 18 aug 17 aug 15 aug 14 aug 13 aug 12 aug 11 aug 10 aug 08 aug 07 aug

Special Offers Advertisement Fattal Hotel Chain Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel. Jewish Singles Personal Ads Find the love of your life on JDate.com MBA in Israel in English APPLY NOW! Limited spaces available Israel's Premier Real Estate Website www. israel-property.com Your vacation starts here Israel Travel Center Guaranteed Lowest Rates Hebrew Summer courses From $39.95 ISRAEL BONDS Build Israel Israel bonds - a multi-purpose way to celebrate Israel's 60th Eldan Rent a Car Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations Junkyard Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt

Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |

Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel

birthright Israel | Search engine marketing

Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.

© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved