Haifa Municipality ordered to stop the construction of a hotel for children with cancer ► Watch

(haipo) - The court ruled: Lev Hash Association can continue building a hotel contrary to the municipality's requirement

This morning, Thursday 18/8/22, the Local Affairs Court ruled that the work stoppage order (issued 3 days ago) filed by the Haifa Municipality to stop construction of the hotel for families of children with cancer and other long-term illnesses, near the Rambam Medical Center, will be reduced And that the works will continue, except for secondary sections.

The initiative to establish the hotel is Lev Hash, a non-profit organization that has been working tirelessly for over 20 years to strengthen and assist disadvantaged sections of the population, such as the elderly, low-income families, Holocaust survivors, sick children and those with various disabilities, through a very broad spectrum of initiatives. , in the long term and in the short term, if it is through financial assistance, health, mental and much more.

make it easier for the children and their families

The hotel, which, as mentioned, is being built near the Rambam Hospital, is intended for families of children with cancer and long-term illnesses who are treated at the Rambam Hospital and are required to come for daily treatments or are hospitalized, do not live in Haifa, with the goal, of course, to make the long trips easier for the families and allow them to accompany their children during the difficult treatments.

Hotel for children with cancer ► Watch

Final stages of construction

From the request submitted by the Lev Hash Association for the removal of the order, it appears that despite the difficulties in the construction, since the conservation division was involved in the construction, the project is now in the finishing stages, all the electrical systems, air conditioning, etc. have been installed, and now the building is in the final stages of painting. It is estimated that in 3 months the construction of the hotel will be completed and it will be possible to start accepting the first families.

According to the association, it is not possible to stop all the work at the construction site, since the daily loss is between 50,000 NIS and 100,000 NIS per day. The association also claims that if there is a specific problem in the basement, as the municipality claims, it is possible to stop the work in the basement until the matter is clarified, but at the same time continue construction on the rest of the site.

Waiting impatiently for the hotel to open

A source close to the association said that the hotel has been under construction for years in order to provide a response to sick children who yearn for the hotel to open and they will be able to come to the place, stay near their family, rest and sleep in it in order to improve their coping with the serious illness and save, at least, arduous journeys that complicate the difficult difficulties Even so.

"Feels like bullying"

"It is impossible for the construction of the hotel to be stopped because of an allegation of a deviation of a few meters on the basement floor. I do not know of anything similar to this, where because of two small deviations, work is stopped at the entire construction site. We feel that this is bullying for its own sake. When you build such a large structure, there may be a situation of ambiguity, and Inspection and facilities, if indeed it turns out to be necessary, but it is impossible to stop all the work. There are many workers and professionals on the site, people make a living from the construction of this structure. We must think about all the consequences, along with the obligation to work according to the law, of course."

"read and not believe"

On 15/8/22, a request was submitted to the court by the Lev Hash Association to remove the stop work order submitted by the municipality and allow it to continue building the hotel. In the application, the association stated, through attorney Ron Burnett, that it had raised over 13,000,000 NIS H. Many donors who gave the best of their money for the establishment of the hotel. "Even the municipality (before its captains changed), recognized the necessity of the hotel and promoted its construction. The respondent herself submitted the application for the construction permit for the establishment of the hotel, as will be detailed below, this fact is of enormous importance for the reasons for the application, since the work order was given, among other things, on the grounds that the permit is valid, which the respondent herself is The owner of the permit, expired. Read and not believe."

In the request, it is also written that does not make sense in the last line and after years of construction and investment of millions the construction will be stopped. "The stop work order issued by the respondent (the municipality) is a stumbling block to the completion of the project and will leave the hotel building as a stone that cannot be turned. Until the completion of the planning process that the respondent decided to impose on the applicant (Heart Association) the hotel building will be a white duplicate instead of being used for the sacred purpose of its name designed".

The application further describes the relationship between the municipality and the Lev Hash Association. According to the association, every request of the municipality was answered immediately, even though some of the requirements did not seem necessary to the association. Construction anomalies. The association submitted, through the architect Tamir Lazar, a request for a permit for changes. According to Lev Hash, even though every request of the municipality was answered immediately, the municipality acted at the same time to issue an administrative order to stop work. Moreover, the association turned to the municipality when it learned that the latter was trying to issue a work stoppage order and offered it alternatives to stop the work, which would be less destructive to the progress of the construction. The municipality ignored the appeals and issued the stop work order to the association.

Piling up difficulties on the part of the municipality - not for the first time

As you may recall, this is not the first time that the Haifa municipality has heaped difficulties on the Lev Chas association, which is entirely dedicated to helping the needy and the underprivileged in society. Remember well the municipality's attempt to evict the association from a place of residence in the Hadar neighborhood, from which it operates the multitude of activities for the elderly, the needy, and survivors Holocaust, low-income families, and with the help of hundreds of volunteers who donate their time and energy, takes care of food baskets, clothing, furniture and extensive support through various means. Those who mobilized so that the association could stay in place were members of the opposition who joined the struggle.

Why is there a need for a hotel near Rambam Hospital?

The Rambam Medical Center is the largest hospital in the north of the country. The hospital complex also houses the Ruth Rappaport Children's Hospital, which provides services to all residents of the north. Every year in Israel, 450 children between the ages of 0-18 are diagnosed with cancer, 80% of them recover Between hospitalizations, children with cancer have to deal with intensive day treatments, chemotherapy or biologicals. 60% of the children are not residents of the city, so they have to make their way from the northern settlements to Haifa every day to receive the necessary medical treatment. The treatment lasts several hours and at the end they return home on in order to arrive the next morning. The sometimes long journeys by public transport and the wait at the hospital make the recovery process difficult, exhausting and sometimes even cause feelings of despair. Because of this distress, the association decided to initiate the establishment of a temporary home for these families. This is a warm, loving and supportive place for patients and their family members. In a hotel The families will be able to sleep, rest, eat and receive complementary treatments. In addition, at the hotel, the children and families will enjoy leisure, cultural and enrichment activities, which will entertain their time between medical treatments.

The hotel - 1,150 square meters for the benefit of children with cancer and their families

The hotel is a high-quality 1,150 square meter, 5-story hotel, built on top of an existing building intended for preservation, a few minutes' walk from the Rambam Hospital. The hotel will be managed by a professional team combined with volunteers. The hotel is planned to have 15 guest rooms for patients and their families, a treatment center for complementary medicine treatments and emotional treatments, a dining room, a cultural center and social activities and a study center, where there will be a computer room and a library.

Lev Hash Association - 24 years of contribution to the community

Lev Hash is a humanitarian non-profit organization that operates with full transparency and under the supervision of professionals and an accountant. The organization has been operating for 24 years and helps tens of thousands of people a year in Haifa and the North through over 1,000 volunteers a year. The organization works in cooperation with many organizations and institutions, including the Municipality of Haifa, Elbit Systems , Intel, Electra, Technion, Pluristem and more.

The association operates dozens of projects, including a dental clinic for the needy, a recycling and recovery center for the needy, a large food distribution center, an apprenticeship program for sick children and their siblings, a social cafe in the Rambam oncology department, and more.

Attorney Ron Burnett: I cannot stand by when I see injustice

The Lev Hash Association is represented pro bono in court by attorney Ron Brent: "I sit on the board voluntarily," attorney Brent told a Hai Pa reporter today, "and cannot stand by when I see the injustice and abuse of office power. We, as lawyers, are ordered to use the legal tools and in our experience to help those whose fate has not improved upon them."

The municipality: We will not allow construction without a permit

The Haifa Municipality stated in response that it supported and supports the establishment of the hotel, but will not allow a violation of the law. "The work stoppage order was issued due to construction without a construction permit. As far as a request to cancel it was submitted, it will be heard by the court as usual."