The Office of the Ombudsman operates a unique scheme called "The Ombudsman in the Community", whereby it contacts sources in the community for raising awareness of its activity. This scheme has proved its importance for the public, as the following case illustrates:
Three women living in East Jerusalem complained that their applications for housing assistance had not been accepted. A social worker who had become acquainted with the work of the Office of the Ombudsman through the said scheme, contacted the Office of the Ombudsman on behalf of the three women.
According to the women, representatives of the registration company - responsible for coordinating applications for rental assistance, examining them and forwarding them to the Ministry of Construction and Housing - had refused to handle their applications. The representatives informed the women that in the absence of confirmation of payment of municipal tax - proving their connection with the leased property - it was not possible to handle the applications. The women explained that they were unable to provide confirmation of payment of municipal tax due to the manner in which properties were registered in East Jerusalem.
Following the Office of the Ombudsman's inquiry with the Ministry of Construction and Housing, the Ministry informed the Office that it had held a professional meeting to reexamine the matter, following which it had issued a new directive whereby "eligible residents of East Jerusalem, including residents of neighborhoods municipally subordinate to Jerusalem, shall be able to submit applications for housing assistance", even where no confirmation of payment of municipal tax has been provided.
The directive lays down criteria and alternatives to the confirmation of payment of municipal tax for proving that applicants are connected to the property that they are renting, as well as a procedure for verifying data by the Ministry of Construction and Housing. It also lays down that after verifying the data and determining status, the application shall be forwarded to the registration companies for continued handling and examination of eligibility, under the usual procedure.