The Israel Post announced its intention to close next month the post office in the Rabbimad complex in Kiryat Motzkin, as part of the reform. “On November 8, 2022, the post office will be closed permanently, it will be possible to receive service at the nearby post office located at 92 Sderot Goshen Moshe Street in Kiryat Motzkin,” according to the announcement. On the Israel Post website The post office in Kiryat Shmuel will also close at the end of the month.
Residents in Motzkin are outraged: “There is a big omission here, Israel Post is closing a branch that serves a large population, many of them people who have difficulty getting around, a lot of adults who use the post office to carry out many operations. People who do not have access or the possibility to go far in order to carry out basic operations.”
Many residents appealed to the municipality for their intervention in the matter. The mayor, Haim Tzuri, addressed a letter to the CEO of Israel Post, David Laron: “I am asking you to reconsider closing this branch, because this branch is the only one in the area that serves a large and elderly population, who do not have knowledge and access to technology. There is no doubt that the closing of the branch will leave many residents without a post office and cause great heartache for the older population. I request in every language of the request to cancel the decision to close the branch and leave the branch’s activity intact.”
The director general of the municipality, Yariv Geser: “There is justice in the anger of the residents. Israel Post needs financial efficiency, so it’s easiest for them to close more and more branches, this is happening all over the country. Also in Acre and Nahariya. With us – out of five branches that operated in Motzkin, the post office wants to keep two.
“The Benue Ganim branch was closed, and only after pressure was put on them, a small branch was opened in the Victory complex. There is a post office on Goshen Boulevard, to which most of the residents are directed from the city center, and in the area of the Rabbimad there is a mostly elderly population, and there are housing clusters, it does not make sense to let them stay away. We need to think about people who are not mobile, and such a decision will hurt them significantly.”
The post office at 14 Mohliver St. in Kiryat Shmuel will also close at the end of the month, as Israel Post publishes on its website. “The Kiryat Shmuel branch is permanently closed as of October 31, 2022, you can receive service at the Goshen post office located at 92 Goshen Moshe St. Kiryat Motzkin, as well as at the unit located at 56 Aran Zalman St. Kiryat Haim Maravit,” the message reads.
The Israel Post stated: “The postal reform is finally underway, in a process that is carried out with complete transparency and in ongoing dialogue with the heads of the localities and the public. As part of the changes, adjustments are being made to the way the post operates, after decades in which it was not adapted to the needs of the public and the changed market for letters and packages, and in some postal units There will be no more public reception on Fridays.
“The Kiryat Motzkin (Rambad) branch will close in November, and residents will continue to receive Israel Post services at post offices in the area, including at the nearby Goshen branch, at many businesses through which packages can be received, and through digital services and ‘home delivery’ services that allow you to enjoy a variety of services and products without going to the branch.”