Ministry of Welfare Cancels 61 Million Shekel Tender Over Conflict of Interest
The Ministry of Welfare canceled a 61 million shekel tender to operate a homeless center after discovering the winning company is owned by the mother of a former senior ministry official who helped draft the process.
A tender issued by the Ministry of Welfare for operating a homeless center in Tel Aviv, valued at 61 million shekels, has been canceled following a severe conflict of interest scandal. The tender was published on August 1, 2024, and the Ministry announced the winning company on April 22, 2025. The winner was M.S. Shiluvim BaKehila, a company owned by Miri Sha'ir, who is the mother of Dr. Rotem Apudi. Apudi served until May 2023 as a senior VP at the Ministry of Welfare and was involved in drafting the tender.
Legal Challenges and Tender Cancellation
Ben Yair HaSharon, a company that operated the homeless center for about 20 years and lost the recent tender, discovered the family ties after noticing that Dr. Apudi herself performed the technical submission process for the winning company. Represented by Adv. Ophir Gantz, the company filed an administrative petition and a subsequent formal objection, arguing a severe breach of the Tender Obligation Law and the principle of equality.
"Public tenders are a promise: compete under equal conditions and the best shall win. When this is not maintained, the entire public is harmed," stated Adv. Gantz.
Following the legal proceedings, the Ministry's tenders committee convened and decided to cancel the tender. The committee noted that maintaining public trust and the purity of the tender process required extreme caution, especially given the first-degree family relation between the winning company's owner and a senior official who helped formulate the tender.
Delayed Response and Future Participation
Despite the cancellation decision, seven months have passed without a new tender being published, a delay that critics argue will allow the originally disqualified company to participate anew. M.S. Shiluvim BaKehila responded that Dr. Apudi had left her post a year before publication and was not involved in drafting the document. The Ministry of Welfare stated that while no strict legal impediment was found, it chose a stringent approach to cancel the tender and preserve public trust.
