A report released by The Movement for Freedom of Information addresses spending in the President’s Residence in 2014, the year that was started with President Shimon Peres and then he stepped down and President Reuven Rivlin took office.

In 2014, the year began with Mr. Peres, who stepped down in July. During his final two months in office. Mr. Peres held 16 working meets, and official travel visits around Israel. The cost for these including security was NIS 30,000.

Since entering office, President Rivlin has taken part in two official travel visits, once in a Beersheva hotel and the second in a Jerusalem hotel because the latter could not be hosted in the official President’s Residence. The total cost was NIS 4,200.

The report addresses the cost of ceremonies and events hosted in the President’s Residence. During the first part of 2014, President Peres spent NIS 2,378,300 while during the second portion of the year, President Rivlin spent NIS 224,550.

Another significant spending gap is for maintenance of the official residence. During Rivlin’s tenure a total of NIS 1.2 million was spent and during Peres’ tenure in 2014, the cost was over NIS 4 million.

It is pointed out there were one-time expenses associated with Rivlin’s entering office. The decision had been made to replace some outdated furniture and household items including drapes, kitchen appliances, and electric appliances, totaling NIS 130,000.

The organization praised the President’s Residence for releasing the information, with the organization’s CEO, attorney Einat Hurwitz, expressing a hope that President Rivlin will continue operating with total transparency in the future.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)