Why you need to update your address on your Israeli I.D. card

Many people move, sometimes temporarily, whatever the circumstances are, according to the law, an employee needs to update his/her employer within 7 days of the change (i.e. fill out the changes on your 101 tax form).
Notifying utilities and Municipality, etc can also be challenging, but many allow phone or email notifications. These are almost always done, as it’s in the person’s best interest, so they will recieve their mail, services (or stoppage of service). But 
people usually don’t have the time to go in to their local Ministry of Interior office and waste several hours in order to update their Israeli I.D. card (Teudat Zehut). People are working or studying and just do not want to be bothered. There should be some form of secure on-line form that can be updated with the relevant information, but that would be too efficient and some public sector employees might lose their jobs.

Well, the following is a completely true story that may make one reconsider taking the time off and updating their I.D. card:

My friend, Yossi lived with his parents and when he married, he moved with his wife to a different town. The town was a few hours travel from his parent’s house. He didn’t update his address on his I.D. card. He got a job in the new town and worked for the same employer for 3 years. One day Yossi gets a letter from Social Security (Bituach Leumi) saying he hasn’t paid social security for the past three years and failure to do so, as legally required by law, may result in fines or imprisonment.

Obviously, Yossi gets scared from the letter and shows up at the local Social Security office in the town where he lives. He brings with him his payslips from the last three years. On the payslips is Yossi’s full name, his Israeli I.D. number and his address of residence. Yossi shows the payslips to the clerk and to his astonishment he is told that the money that was deducted from his pay was not credited to his account because he does belong to this particular branch of Social Security, but rather in the town where his parents live !

The fact that all branches are connected via computer network and it seems just a silly beaurocratic issue, he was told that he needed to physically go into the local Interior Ministry office nad change his address and then travel to his former town, to the Social Security office and ask that his file be transferred to the new town. All his reasonable arguing to no avail. To top it off, while he is sitting in the Social Security office he gets a phone call from his wife who tells him that their car and some possesions have been confiscated by the Social Security office as collateral until he pays his due!

Needless to say, he had to take a day’s vacation and waste it on setting the records right with the authorities. After all is said and done, they actually refunded him 600 shekels that he was overcharged.

Food for thought.

 

 

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