Investigation Reveals Cash Payment Controversy at Safed Cemetery Was Misrepresented

Channel 13 is set to release an investigative report focusing on Benjamin Legaziel, a representative of the Safed cemetery, allegedly receiving about 51,000 shekels in cash for a burial plot. However, recordings and communications preceding the meeting show Legaziel requesting a bank transfer instead, stating explicitly, "I do not want cash, I want a deposit." The full amount was later returned.

The investigation centers on a caller who identified himself as the nephew of a deceased person in France, urgently needing proof of plot purchase to transport the body to Israel. The caller proposed sending payment via a courier, but Legaziel provided the cemetery's bank account details and insisted on a bank transfer. Despite pressure from the caller citing urgency, Legaziel maintained his preference for a non-cash transaction.

According to the cemetery management, the entire scenario was orchestrated for the investigation: there was no deceased relative in France, nor an urgent need to repatriate a body. Even after agreeing to accept cash, the plan was to convert and deposit the money properly and issue a receipt. The term "redemption at a currency exchange" mentioned by Legaziel referred to converting the cash, not hiding it. Ultimately, the cash was not converted or deposited; the payment was canceled and refunded immediately after the cash handover.

The cemetery administration demands that Channel 13 present the full sequence of conversations, not just the moment of cash delivery, arguing that portraying Legaziel as demanding cash contradicts the recordings where he explicitly refuses it. They emphasized transparency and clarified that the caller initiated the cash payment proposal.

Additionally, the management addressed the mention of Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu in the report, noting his formal role in signing property deeds but no involvement in daily financial management, negotiations, or payment collections related to burial plots.