Ministry of Education Sues Ashdod Association for 1.87 Million Shekels Over Fraud
The Ministry of Education filed a 1.87 million shekel lawsuit against an Ashdod educational association and its officials over false enrollment reports and unprovided staffing funds.
The Ministry of Education has filed a lawsuit of 1.87 million shekels at the Ashdod Magistrates' Court against the "Beit Yosef" association in Ashdod and two of its committee members and authorized signatories, Habib Siboni and Shimon Sigawoy. The principal amount the ministry demands to recover stands at approximately 1.365 million shekels, with the remainder consisting of interest and linkage.
Discrepancies in Student Enrollment and Staffing
According to the claims, significant gaps were found between the number of students who actually studied at the special education school "Chanoch LaNoar" in Ashdod and the number declared in official records. For example, a case was described where 51 students were registered, while in practice only 12 studied there, leading the ministry to set an offset of about 149,000 shekels for over-budgeted standard hours.
In another inspection in December 2017, a roster of 20 students was reported, yet during the visit, only one teacher and five students were found at the school. Ministry documents also claimed that students who left the institution continued to appear on lists, students studying in other frameworks were reported as school students, and even a student who had already been drafted into the IDF appeared on the student roster.
Additional Violations and Personal Liability
The ministry claims the association also received budgets for personnel and working hours that were not proven to have been provided in practice. Among other things, an offset of about 1.18 million shekels was determined for teaching hours, alongside offsets for paramedical staff, reinforcement aides, custodians, and teacher salaries during the summer vacation. The lawsuit follows years of legal proceedings initiated by the association, which claimed selective enforcement, though the courts repeatedly rejected their petitions.
Now, the ministry is seeking to hold the two association officials personally liable, arguing that as committee members and authorized signatories, they breached their duty of care. The school's response had not been received by the time of publication.
