ISRAEL | Ombudsman submits special report on activity during coronavirus pandemic

On 8 September 2020, the State Comptroller and Ombudsman of Israel, Matanyahu Englman, presented to the Parliament (Knesset) a special report on its activity during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Reference to the report will be made by Dr. Esther Ben-Haim, Adv., Head of the Office of the Ombudsman, during the webinar on the theme "Covid-19 and the Ombudsperson - Rising to the Challenge of a Pandemic", which will take place on 24 November 2020 at 14:00 (CET). 

The special report reviews the activity of the Office of the Ombudsman during the first wave of the pandemic. The report gives detailed data on the complaints received, an account of the adaptations made by the Office to the investigation procedure in order to cope with the crisis and a description of the handling of selected complaints.

During the review period, the Office received 4,684 complaints, of which 1,677 related to the coronavirus crisis. Some 75% of the complaints relating to the virus concerned the social security network provided by the state by means of benefits or grants. Under the guidance of Dr. Ben-Haim, the Office adopted flexible and creative measures to enable the provision of swift and effective solutions to the problems detailed in the complaints. Consequently, 73.8% of the complaints relating to the coronavirus, in which the investigation was completed during the review period, were rectified during the investigation or as a result of it. For example, the case of a woman who was in quarantine unnecessarily for a month after her coronavirus test went missing or the case of prisoners in the high-risk group, whose request to move to other prisons was granted.

Click HERE for a full English translation of the report.

A link to the webinar "Covid-19 and the Ombudsperson - Rising to the Challenge of a Pandemic" registration form can be found HERE.

Source: Office of the State Comptroller and Ombudsman, Israel