Freedom of Information Act + Reports

Any information held by a public authority, whether written, recorded, filmed, photographed, or computerized.

Information whose disclosure may harm national security, foreign relations, public safety, or the safety or well-being of any person, as well as information whose disclosure constitutes an invasion of privacy (unless disclosure is permitted by law) and information that may not be disclosed under any law. Other information whose disclosure may disrupt the functioning of the public authority, its ability to operate and plan, conduct negotiations, or relate to internal discussions, as well as sections specified in the law.

According to a decision by the city council, the municipality's spokesperson, Yehoram Ben-Aroush, has been appointed to handle inquiries and implement the law.

Residents according to the population registry, as well as corporations incorporated under Israeli law. In addition, non-citizens or non-residents are entitled to information regarding their rights in Israel (such as foreign workers).

A public authority must make available for public inspection the written administrative guidelines according to which it operates and which are relevant or important to the public. A local authority must also make its by-laws available for inspection.

A request for information must be submitted in writing to the supervisor. The applicant is not required to state the reason for the request. The information will be made available to the applicant as it is in the possession of the authority, and the authority is not required to process the information according to the applicant's needs. An information request form can be obtained by fax, email, and/or at the office of the supervisor.

The applicant is entitled to appeal the authority's decision to reject their request for information to the district court.

The Minister of Justice has established regulations determining the amount of the fee to be charged to the applicant for information, taking into account the different types of information and the applicants for it: The rates are updated from time to time and include: Information request fee, information processing fee, information production fee.

Application fee: An “application fee” of NIS 23 must be paid by check made out to “Lod Municipality” payable to the order of the Municipality only, and sent to the Municipality Spokesperson responsible for implementing the Freedom of Information Act, at the following address: Lod Municipality, 2 Bar Kochba Street, Lod.

Payment can also be made by direct deposit to Bank Leumi account number 10/937/19000-66, and the deposit/payment confirmation should be sent by email to adm_yehoram@lod.muni.il.

In addition, the person requesting the information will be required to sign a commitment to pay a search and processing fee and a production fee up to a maximum of NIS 173 (including the application fee*). If the person responsible for implementing the law informs the applicant that the cost of processing their request is higher, separate consent will be required to continue processing the request and a commitment to deposit the estimated amount or provide guarantees to secure the full amount.

In certain circumstances, an exemption from the fee will be granted, for example, information that a person requests about themselves. No fee will be charged for information that must be made available to the public, but a fee may be charged for copying the information.

Requests for information should be addressed to the Freedom of Information Officer – Yehuram Ben Arush, Address: 2 Bar Kochba Street, Lod. Telephone: 08-9279777, Fax: 08-9230348 Email: adm_yehoram@lod.muni.il.

According to the law, the Municipality will publish an Annual Report that includes information about its activities and a report on the implementation of the Freedom of Information Law in the municipality. The report will be available for public inspection at the office of the Freedom of Information Act Implementation Supervisor.