Moti Maman Petitions Court After Bustan Hagalil Blocks His Return

Mordechai “Moti” Maman serving a multi‑year sentence after admitting contact with Iranian agents has asked the Haifa District Court to overturn a decision by the Bustan Hagalil moshav committee and the Mateh Asher Regional Council refusing to register him as a resident. The petition, filed through his son and attorney, says the committee’s refusal caused his family undue hardship and was carried out in bad faith.

Maman, 73, who was convicted last year of contacting a foreign agent and illegally entering Iran, told the court the council gave him “non‑answers” when he inquired about the rejection and that the move violated his basic rights and lacked transparency. He emphasized that his family has lived in the area since 1991 and considers itself part of the community.

The moshav’s opposition to Maman’s registration reflects powerful local sentiment. After his arrest, residents publicly expressed outrage over his dealings with Iranian operatives and stressed their community’s patriotic character, saying they would not welcome someone convicted of betraying Israel back into the village. The committee and regional council have not yet issued a formal public response to the petition.

Prosecutors say Maman travelled to Iran and met with intelligence officials who discussed targeting senior Israeli figures; he was offered assignments that allegedly included high‑profile assassinations, though he later said he refused such plots. In April he was sentenced to ten years in prison and has appealed the sentence to the Supreme Court; that appeal is expected to be heard in May 2026.

In his petition, Maman frames the dispute as more than administrative: he argues the denial amounted to discrimination and an excessive deviation from reasonableness, asking the court to compel the moshav and council to state their rationale and to register his address. The case raises broader questions about reintegration, communal authority over membership in cooperative settlements, and the legal limits on local bodies’ discretion when dealing with convicted residents.

The court will now weigh competing claims: the moshav’s interest in protecting communal cohesion and security perceptions versus Maman’s asserted civil‑status rights and his family’s ties to the locality. Whatever the outcome, the dispute underscores the deep social and legal repercussions that follow convictions tied to national security.

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