Daughter sues NII for refusing to pay for mother's burial in Bnei Brak

A Bnei Brak resident who wanted to bury her dead mother in the city's cemetery was surprised to learn that the National Insurance Institute does not cover the costs for locals to be buried there. M. subsequently filed a suit against the NII at the Tel Aviv Labor Court, demanding the institute cover burial costs for Jewish residents at the city's cemetery.

M.'s mother died in February 2008 and was buried in a plot at the Bnei Brak cemetery next to her late husband. The plot was purchased after her death.

By law, every citizen - irrespective of religion - is entitled to funding from the NII to cover the costs of burial and a plot for a grave. However, according to NII regulations regarding burial in the Jewish community, the institution is only required to pay an organization authorized to handle burials.

The NII says that the company that buried M.'s mother is not among those recognized by the institute as eligible for conducting burials. The NII insists it has an agreement with Hevra Kadisha Tel Aviv, which inters Bnei Brak residents at the Yarkon cemetery only.

"We find it puzzling that there is not a single undertaker in the city of Bnei Brak that is registered with the NII to bury city residents at the city cemeteries," says attorney Liz Elkayam of the Tel Aviv legal aid office, which falls under the auspices of the Justice Ministry.

A source at the NII said in response that, by law, payment for burial is made to companies authorized by the institution to carry out burials, and that there are some companies that offer secular, alternative burials at kibbutzim or moshavim. Moreover, the source said, the Hevra Kadisha in Bnei Brak does not have an agreement with the NII, while the company in Tel Aviv does have such a burial arrangement.