Jerusalem Enforcement Registrar Cancels 21 Million Shekel Debt for Ill 73-Year-Old Woman

The Jerusalem Enforcement Registrar, Shray Gabay-Nuriel, recently ordered the closure of a 25-year-old consolidated debt case involving a 73-year-old woman who accumulated debts totaling approximately 21 million shekels. The decision followed the absence of most creditors at a scheduled hearing and their failure to submit objections, alongside the woman's exceptional personal circumstances. The woman suffers from a serious oncological illness and lives in financial hardship, unable to realistically repay the debt. She had been advised to seek life-saving treatment abroad but was prevented from doing so due to her debt and related legal restrictions.

The consolidated enforcement case, initiated in 1999, combined eight separate creditor files, some dating back to 1992. The original debt was about one million shekels but ballooned to over 21 million shekels mainly due to accumulated interest and linkage increments on joint debts with her late husband. For example, in the largest creditor file involving a bank, the debt grew from 124,000 shekels at the case's start to 14.5 million shekels today.

The registrar noted the woman's difficult life situation, including past domestic violence from her deceased husband, and her current reliance on social welfare, National Insurance benefits, and charitable aid. Despite her hardships, she consistently paid 100 shekels monthly towards the debt for many years. The case was referred to a community registrar for review, and a hearing was scheduled with creditors and the debtor. However, only one private creditor appeared and chose to waive the debt collection due to her condition, while the bank did not attend or respond.

In her ruling, Gabay-Nuriel emphasized balancing debt collection interests with justice, proportionality, and human dignity. She concluded that continuing collection efforts would not realistically recover the debt and would unduly burden the woman in her final life stage. Therefore, she ordered the enforcement files against the woman to be closed, allowing her to focus limited financial and emotional resources on her medical treatment. However, collection proceedings against the estate of her late husband will continue separately.