The Source, Season 23, Episode 10: The Secrets of Miri Regev, Part I

Responses to the investigation:

Minister Miri Regev’s response:

We received the many (very) questions you sent us. It is a collection of lies, false claims, half-truths and distortion of reality. We are sorry that you relied on the words of Yonatan, a former employee, who stole documents from the office of the Ministry of Transportation to prepare a defamatory and false investigation against the Minister of Transportation. The way things are presented in the program is distorted, distorted, careless, edited in a trending manner, it does not maintain any connection with reality and facts.

All of the claims made were examined by us, one by one, and found to be factually incorrect, and we have documents that refute all the claims. We suggest that you carefully consider the publication of the things, check yourself and the truth of the claims.
The work of Minister Regev, in infrastructure development, in promoting the transportation system in Israel by air, sea and land, in her strenuous field work and that of the professionals in the Ministry and in the companies subordinate to the Ministry of Transportation speaks for itself. The momentum of the Ministry of Transportation in promoting reforms, light rail lines, transportation solutions, is manifested on the ground.

The unfortunate and false attempt to create a simulated bias in favor of “Likud” cities is ridiculous. The facts show that the Minister of Transportation, the Director General of the Ministry and the professionals in the Ministry of Transportation and the infrastructure companies regularly meet with mayors or their representatives from the right and the left, from the periphery and the center, Jews and non-Jews, in order to promote transportation projects for the benefit of the general public for practical reasons only.

The claim that the minister only helps Likud members is also false. Minister Regev regretted her decision to respond to every applicant. The minister and her office receive endless requests from citizens, members of the Knesset (also from the opposition factions), ministers, Jews and Arabs, religious, ultra-Orthodox and secular, right-wing and left-wing. The minister tries to help everyone, and everything is in accordance with the law. It is unacceptable for the minister to ignore or disparage “Likud people”. They are equal citizens in the State of Israel and are entitled to assistance like any other citizen, and everything as stated is in accordance with the law.

The claims regarding appointments and consultants are also unfounded. All appointments in the minister’s office and in companies and corporations are made according to the procedures and in accordance with the recommendations of the search committees or councils. The Minister is happy about the excellent appointments of the CEO of the Ministry, the CEO of the Railways, the head of RTA, the head of the Public Relations Authority, the VP of Infrastructure, the chairman of the Harlbad and the other appointed officials.

The response of the Director General of the Ministry of Transportation Moshe Ben Zaken:

The Director General of the Ministry of Transportation, implements Minister Regev’s policy in developing and promoting infrastructure throughout Israel. He promotes many projects in the air, at sea and on land for the benefit of the citizens of Israel.

The minister of transportation, together with the director general of the ministry, brought this year an unprecedented budget of 63 billion shekels – which is already leading to the improvement of the infrastructure, the railroad network, the promotion of public transportation, treatment of the red roads and risk centers and lowering the cost of living.

Contrary to your claim, in relation to the red line in Israel, the project has not been stopped and is continuing in planning, when it reaches implementation, the required budget will be allocated to it.

The director general of the office works to promote the interest of the citizens of Israel and does not engage in cheap gossip that was taken out of context and cooked up in a trending manner. The CEO reserves the right to sue you for any defamation, misrepresentation and distortion of false statements or claims as shown by the query you sent.

Counselor Gal Baisberg’s response:

I did not work with Minister Regev, I did not receive a single shekel either from her or from her office. And I am not a political consultant.

Advisor Avi Blumenthal’s response:

We provide service to the Ministry of Transportation’s barge system on a daily basis and employ several consultants for this purpose. In this framework, we provide a communication response to all the professionals in the office and certainly also to the Minister of Transportation.

We do not deal with the minister’s political issues at all and we have not talked to reporters at all about these issues. We see professional importance in synchronizing the ministry’s spokespeople with the minister’s spokespeople and we are happy to have a fruitful and efficient collaboration.

The reaction of Nissim Peretz, CEO of Natibi Israel (NTI):

The CEO of Natibi Israel operates in accordance with the policy of the Ministry of Transport and the appointed minister. The CEOs of the infrastructure companies are the implementers of the policy vis-a-vis the ministries and ministers, and this is how I acted under five Ministers of Transportation during my tenure as CEO of Natibi Israel.

Regarding the works in Ashkelon – regarding the claim about road rehabilitation due to flood damage – it is about Ben Gurion Boulevard, the budget source for the road rehabilitation is the balances of the Ashkelon Roof Agreement – Ashkelon North Interchange. This is a budget designated for the city of Ashkelon as part of the city’s housing agreements. As of today, the works have not been carried out due to the signing of an agreement between the Ministry of Transportation and the municipality of Ashkelon for the execution of priority axes and bicycle paths throughout the city. According to government decision number 854 of 07/30/23, it was decided to add to the goals of the Israel Routes Company, work in the urban environment that includes: planning, development, execution and maintenance of transportation projects, for the benefit of reducing congestion in these places. The Israel Routes Company maintains traffic continuity throughout the country in extreme and emergency situations in order to allow the security forces mobility. During the tours conducted by the minister on November 23 and February 24 in Ashkelon, she instructed to work to restore the infrastructures that were damaged during the “Iron Swords” war. Israel Routes acted in accordance with the agreement. The works in Ashkelon were carried out as part of the repair of war damage to be budgeted from the budget of the Takuma Directorate, which is responsible for the rehabilitation of the settlements of the Western Negev.

With regard to the works in Kasra – Samie – the company operates according to the “crossing towns” regulation by virtue of the budget summary for the years 2023-2024 between the Ministry of Transportation and Road Safety and the Ministry of Finance. In its framework, the company works to arrange first-class safety projects and to upgrade roads that cross the settlements in the Arab sector and also include the construction of sidewalks, lighting and accessibility. The “Crossing Villages” program is budgeted at approximately NIS 95 million per year and is implemented in accordance with an order of priorities and a systematic methodology. The projects in Kasra – Samia are carried out according to the same methodology and with the right of way of the company.

Regarding the Nahal Shurk Regional Council, the Bnei Ram intersection – according to the recommendations of the professionals, including the company’s chief traffic engineer and the HRLBD, the left turn to the south onto Route 40 is difficult for traffic maneuvering. The traffic lights at the intersection will improve safety and allow for safe turns, safe crossing for pedestrians and transit users As a general rule, entry points to settlements located on two-lane roads will be signaled in order to improve the safety of road users.

Regarding routes: making a traffic light at the intersection, required following the settlement of a new neighborhood in the city. As a result of this, severe traffic congestion was created at the exit from the city, which constituted a serious safety hazard. As part of the expansion of Highway 25, a traffic light was placed at the intersection of the points on an existing situation – without changes or construction of a new intersection in a short time as expected from a professional infrastructure company that prioritizes the safety of road users first. The execution of the project for the intersection traffic light took only about a month, similar to other intersections that were carried out throughout the country, such as the Yiftach and Eliphalet intersection in the north.

Regarding works in Moshav Zarhia: This is a road crossing the village of Zarhia, which was transferred to the company’s authority several years before. As a general rule, the company does not maintain roads with an urban section within the settlements. However, since the road connects two intercity roads (road number 3 and road number 40) the road was transferred to the authority of Israel Routes Company. Following the appeal of the head of the regional council, Shapir, Adir Neman, with a request to regulate a safety hazard along the road. In order to fix the safety hazard, the company was required to seize the existing right of way along the road. During the seizure process, the company got into a conflict between neighbors who physically prevented the completion of the work. It should be noted that the sidewalk was built by the council before the road was transferred to the company’s authority. The company was prepared to carry out the work and at the scheduled start date, a request was received from the Ministry of Transportation to freeze the work until the data was clarified. During the following month the facts became clear, the company did remove the safety hazard and settled the field of view issue by removing the vegetation.

The response of Shai Hajj, head of the Merhavim Regional Council:

The attitude we received from the Ministry of Transportation is a good attitude, but in practice the projects have not yet been cooked. Waiting for voices calling like all the people of Israel.

The response of Ronen Plot, Mayor of Nof HaGalil:

All the ministers who were in the Ministry of Transport treated me well, I have nothing to complain about. If I have to apologize for being a Likud man, I don’t. But between that and saying that there is some kind of preference, so I wish there was.

I started with Mirav Michaeli, she really did a very, very good job, I was very satisfied with her work, and she helped a lot. There are 7-8 things we addressed to Miri Regev in requests, for which we have not received any answer to date.

I had no pleasure from Miri Regev. Nothing. upside down. Mirav Michaeli was excellent, Smotrich was excellent, they are the ones who pushed all kinds of things. She thinks she has no money for my city, okay, thank her. She knows I’m angry.

The response of Shai Reichner, head of the Nahal Sorek Regional Council:

I don’t know that there was any opposition to the traffic light. Professional officials actually said that this is one of the most dangerous intersections. I asked to promote it due to the risk. And I hope they promote it. I feel a big difference during the Miri Regev period because during the Michaeli period when I invited her to meetings she did not come. Merav Michaeli has not answered one of my calls since the day I tried to call her, if at all, so I would appreciate it if you could check why it didn’t happen.

Sasson Eliyahu’s response:

I don’t ask for things personally. It’s not about me at all. There was a request from the national Pazgaz company, on this specific issue. I have never personally contacted the Ministry of Transportation. I turned to professional officials. And professional officials don’t respond in the system – so it’s very serious. And if I have to reach the prime minister, I will also reach the prime minister. The seventh of October didn’t just happen to us. Because public officials in Israel do not work. Maybe they do it on purpose.

Renee’s response:

The Ministry of Transportation is the best we have in Israel, and the best minister in the world. We don’t have a better prime minister than Bibi and let all the leftists pay for Bibi, and what can I tell you, I record everything and I recorded it too, let them know. I’m a pensioner, a millionaire, I don’t need anything. I didn’t ask for anything. I have no one. And we love the leftists, three years, I hope they won’t suffer much. that’s it.

Sami Levy’s response:

I didn’t contact Sarah. I contacted the Ministry of Transport. And in the end the problem was not solved for me. It was a matter of responsibility who takes responsibility for the engine. The engine ran in the car for a very short period of a few tens of kilometers. It’s a new car that cost me about NIS 400,000. And it didn’t… didn’t work.

Zion’s response to Nakri:

Sometimes when she arrives there is a summons or what is called the minister comes here or there and those who see fit to join and those who don’t don’t. It is absolutely not true that it is not possible to make an appointment without me at the port of Haifa.