Israel

The person posts on a public social-media account, under their own name, that the Holocaust did not happen and the gas chambers are a fabrication. The post contains no threat, no call to violence, and names no living individual.

Publishing words that deny or minimise Nazi crimes against the Jewish people, with intent to defend the perpetrators or express sympathy with them, carries up to 5 years (Denial of Holocaust (Prohibition) Law 1986, s.2); indictment needs the Attorney General's consent (s.5). We found no reported prosecution under this law in the last five years, so df rests on the law plus the absence of cases. The State Attorney's Cyber Unit sends voluntary removal requests to platforms, which the High Court allowed in Adalah v. Cyber Unit (2021); the likely response to the post is a removal request, not a charge.

Sources: Denial of Holocaust (Prohibition) Law 5746-1986 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person posts a public rant using slurs against an ethnic or religious group, saying the group is inferior and unwelcome in the country. No threat, no call to violence, no named individual.

Publishing anything with the aim of inciting racism, defined as persecution, humiliation, degradation or hostility toward a group because of colour, race or national-ethnic origin, carries up to 5 years, whether or not the statement is true (Penal Law ss.144A-144B). Indictment needs the Attorney General's written consent (s.144E), which keeps the number of cases small. Police opened hundreds of speech investigations after October 2023, mostly for incitement or support for terrorism rather than plain slurs (Freedom House 2025). We found no national count of s.144B prosecutions for posts like this one.

Sources: Penal Law 5737-1977 (Hebrew Wikisource text) · Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2025: Israel

At a lawful, peaceful protest in a public square, the person burns a national flag they own and a copy of the dominant religion's scripture they own. No fire-safety rule is broken.

Desecrating the state flag carries up to 3 years or a fine since the 2016 amendment (Flag, Emblem and National Anthem Law s.5). Destroying or desecrating any object a group holds sacred, with intent to insult its religion or knowing they will take it as an insult, carries 3 years (Penal Law s.170), and a publication that grossly offends religious feelings carries 1 year (s.173). Burning a Torah or Bible in public would be investigated under s.170. We found no prosecution data, so df assumes arrest and investigation, with prosecution sometimes following.

Sources: Flag, Emblem and National Anthem Law 5709-1949, s.5 (Hebrew Wikisource text) · Penal Law 5737-1977 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person posts that the head of state is a criminal and a pedophile. They have no evidence and present it as their opinion of the leader.

Defamation published with intent to harm is a crime with up to 1 year (Defamation Law s.6), and the victim can bring a private criminal complaint (s.8). Insulting a public servant carries 6 months (Penal Law s.288), but the Supreme Court has read it narrowly. In practice the remedy is a civil suit: courts can award up to NIS 50,000 (index-linked) without proof of damage, doubled for intent to harm (s.7A), and an unsupported claim that the leader is a pedophile is a factual claim that opinion defences do not cover. We found no prosecution of a citizen for insulting the President; prime ministers have sued critics in civil court.

Sources: Defamation (Prohibition) Law 5725-1965 (Hebrew Wikisource text) · Penal Law 5737-1977 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person prints and hands out a pamphlet praising an organisation the state has banned as terrorist or extremist, saying its cause is just. The pamphlet urges no specific act, and the person has no contact with the group.

Identifying with a terrorist organisation in public, including by publishing praise, support or sympathy for it, carries up to 3 years (Counter-Terrorism Law s.24(a)); praising a terrorist act where there is a real chance it leads to one carries 5 years (s.24(b)). Since November 2023 a temporary provision also punishes systematic consumption of the group's content with 1 year (s.24(c1)). After October 2023 police made hundreds of arrests and interrogations for statements, mostly on social media and disproportionately of Arab citizens (Freedom House 2025). A pamphlet praising Hamas would bring arrest and likely indictment.

Sources: Counter-Terrorism Law 5776-2016, s.24 (Hebrew Wikisource text) · Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2025: Israel

The person repeatedly refers to a named transgender public figure by their former pronouns and name in public posts, with no threats and no contact with the figure.

No law addresses misgendering, and the anti-discrimination and racism-incitement provisions do not list gender identity. Using a telecommunications device in a way that harasses or annoys someone carries 3 years (Communications Law s.30), but it is aimed at messages to a person, and we found no case applying it to public posts with no contact. The realistic exposure is a civil defamation or harassment suit, which we found no record of for misgendering.

Sources: Communications (Telecommunications and Broadcasting) Law 5742-1982, s.30 (Hebrew Wikisource text) · Defamation (Prohibition) Law 5725-1965 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

A blogger writes that a named local businessman (a private figure) is a fraud. The claim is false, but the blogger honestly believed it after reading a news report.

Defamation is a civil wrong and also a crime with up to 1 year when published with intent to harm (Defamation Law s.6), which the businessman can prosecute himself by private complaint (s.8). Truth is a defence only with public interest (s.14). The good-faith defences (s.15) are presumed lost if the statement was false and the author took no reasonable steps to check it (s.16(b)(2)), so relying on one news report may not save the blogger. Damages of up to NIS 50,000 (index-linked) need no proof of loss (s.7A), and costs are on top.

Sources: Defamation (Prohibition) Law 5725-1965 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

A journalist accurately reports, with evidence, that a sitting politician is having an extramarital affair. The politician sues for defamation and invasion of privacy.

Truth plus public interest is a full defence to defamation (Defamation Law s.14). But publishing a matter about a person's intimate life, including their sexual past, is an invasion of privacy (Privacy Protection Law s.2(11)), and doing it deliberately is a crime with up to 5 years (s.5). There is a public-interest defence if the publication was not false (s.18(3)). Israeli media regularly report on politicians' private conduct; we found no prosecution of a journalist under s.5 for such a report, so df reflects a civil fight the journalist will probably win at real cost.

Sources: Protection of Privacy Law 5741-1981 (Hebrew Wikisource text) · Defamation (Prohibition) Law 5725-1965 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

A foreign billionaire sues a local critic in local courts over a harsh but clearly opinion-based review of their business conduct.

Israel has no anti-SLAPP law. Opinion about a person's conduct in a public matter, and criticism of their public acts, are good-faith defences (Defamation Law s.15(4), (6)), but they are decided at trial and the defendant must prove them. The claimant can also file a private criminal complaint for defamation (s.8). Costs follow the event at the court's discretion, so a well-funded claimant can make the critic carry heavy costs before winning.

Sources: Defamation (Prohibition) Law 5725-1965 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person wants to buy a common centrefire semi-automatic rifle (e.g. an AR-15 pattern rifle with a 30-round magazine) and keep it at home.

Owning any firearm needs a licence (Firearms Law s.5), and owning one without a licence carries up to 7 years (Penal Law s.144(a)). Private licences under the 2023 criteria cover one handgun for applicants who meet a criterion such as combat service or living in a listed area (Firearms Regulations 2023, regs 3 and 7(a)(1)). Only the sport-shooter, hunter, vet and pest-control criteria let the licensing officer set the firearm type (reg 7(a)(3)), so a private AR-15 is available only by discretion to a small group. In practice civilians get handguns, and semi-automatic rifles are state-issued to security squads.

Sources: Firearms Law 5709-1949 (Hebrew Wikisource text) · Firearms Regulations (Threshold Conditions and Criteria for a Private Licence) 5784-2023 (Hebrew Wikisource text) · Penal Law 5737-1977 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person wants to buy a 9mm handgun and keep it loaded at home for self-defence.

A private licence needs citizenship or residency, Hebrew, a medical declaration, training, a police check and an age threshold (27 for those who did not serve; reg 2), plus at least one criterion from the schedule: living or working in a place the police list, combat service or 07 rifleman training, police service, farming, rescue volunteering and others (reg 3). The licence covers one handgun, and the licensing officer sets the storage conditions (reg 7). Self-defence is the purpose of these licences, but a 30-year-old who did not serve in combat and lives in an unlisted city cannot get one. After October 2023 the criteria were widened and applications rose sharply.

Sources: Firearms Regulations (Threshold Conditions and Criteria for a Private Licence) 5784-2023 (Hebrew Wikisource text) · Firearms Law 5709-1949 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person wants to carry a loaded handgun, concealed, in everyday public places.

The same private licence covers carrying the handgun in public (Firearms Regulations 2023 define a private licence as a licence to carry or hold; reg 1), and licensed Israelis commonly carry concealed. Eligibility depends on the criteria in the schedule (residence or work area, combat or police service, and others), so the licence is shall-issue for those categories and unavailable for others. Carrying without a licence carries up to 10 years (Penal Law s.144(b)).

Sources: Firearms Regulations (Threshold Conditions and Criteria for a Private Licence) 5784-2023 (Hebrew Wikisource text) · Penal Law 5737-1977 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person wants to carry pepper spray, or a folding knife with a 9 cm locking blade, in public for self-defence.

A tear-gas canister made for self-defence, within the content and concentration limits in the First Schedule, is excluded from the definition of a firearm (Firearms Law s.1) and from the Penal Law's definition of a weapon (s.144(c)), so adults may carry pepper spray without a licence. Carrying a knife outside one's home carries up to 5 years unless the carrier proves a lawful purpose (Penal Law s.186(a)). A folding pocket knife is presumed to be carried for a lawful purpose except in schools and places listed in the Second Schedule (s.186(b)). Pepper spray is the more permissive option, lawful within product limits.

Sources: Firearms Law 5709-1949 (Hebrew Wikisource text) · Penal Law 5737-1977 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person wants to own a machine gun, or a destructive device such as an artillery piece or a grenade launcher with live rounds.

Holding a weapon without a licence carries up to 7 years, and acquiring or carrying one carries up to 10 years; 'weapon' includes grenades and other explosives (Penal Law s.144). Military firearms can be imported only with government approval (Firearms Law s.2(b)). The 2023 licensing criteria give private holders handguns or the type the licensing officer sets for sport or hunting, and include no collector route for live automatic weapons or destructive devices.

Sources: Penal Law 5737-1977 (Hebrew Wikisource text) · Firearms Law 5709-1949 (Hebrew Wikisource text) · Firearms Regulations (Threshold Conditions and Criteria for a Private Licence) 5784-2023 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

At night, a stranger armed with a knife breaks into the person's home. The person shoots and kills the intruder with a lawfully held gun.

Since 2008 a person is not criminally liable for an act immediately necessary to repel someone breaking into their home with intent to commit an offence, unless the act was manifestly unreasonable (Penal Law s.34J1). The section was passed after the Shai Dromi case, in which a farmer who shot an intruder was acquitted of manslaughter. Police still detain and question the shooter and investigate, but against an intruder armed with a knife charges are unlikely.

Sources: Penal Law 5737-1977 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

On the street, a stranger attacks the person with fists. The person could safely walk away but instead punches back once, breaking the attacker's nose.

Self-defence covers acts 'immediately necessary' to repel an unlawful attack (Penal Law s.34J) and fails if the act was not reasonable (s.34P). The statute has no stand-your-ground rule; the home-defence exception (s.34J1) applies only to break-ins. Courts treat the chance to avoid the attack safely as part of necessity, so a single punch after the attack has begun is usually justified but can lead to an assault investigation. We found no charging data.

Sources: Penal Law 5737-1977 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person wants to buy a course of amoxicillin for a sinus infection without seeing a doctor.

Amoxicillin is a prescription-only medicine; a pharmacist may dispense it only on a prescription from a doctor or an authorised prescriber (Pharmacists Ordinance s.26). A pharmacist may dispense without one in an immediate and urgent need (s.26A). Prescriptions are easy to get: every resident belongs to a health fund that offers same-day doctor visits and telemedicine at no charge, but whether antibiotics are prescribed is the doctor's call. The buyer commits no offence.

Sources: Pharmacists Ordinance [New Version] 5741-1981, ss.26, 26A (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person wants to take a drug approved by the EMA or FDA but not approved in their own country, for a non-terminal condition.

With the Director's consent, the registration rules do not apply to a medicine received from abroad in a non-commercial quantity, in small packs, for a person's own use (Pharmacists (Medical Preparations) Regulations reg 29(a)(1)); the Ministry of Health has published a general consent notice under this regulation. In practice personal import of a prescription drug needs a prescription. We could not open the Ministry's current guidance page, so the quantity and prescription conditions are not cited.

Sources: Pharmacists Regulations (Medical Preparations) 5746-1986, reg. 29 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

A terminally ill patient wants a drug that has passed Phase 1 trials but is not approved anywhere, and the manufacturer is willing to supply it.

An unregistered drug can be supplied for a named patient only with Ministry of Health consent under reg 29 of the Pharmacists (Medical Preparations) Regulations, the route Israeli oncologists use for drugs still in trials. Approval is discretionary and case by case; there is no right-to-try law. We found no approval rates or processing times.

Sources: Pharmacists Regulations (Medical Preparations) 5746-1986, reg. 29 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person wants to sell one of their kidneys to a willing recipient, with surgery by licensed surgeons.

Receiving or giving payment for an organ taken from a living person who is not a first-degree relative carries up to 3 years or a fine, and so does brokering (Organ Transplant Law ss.3, 4, 36(a)); this applies even when the transplant is abroad (s.36(b)). Reimbursement of expenses under s.22 is not payment (s.3(c)). Prosecutions under the law have targeted brokers; we found no prosecution of a donor, so df is set above the statutory band.

Sources: Organ Transplant Law 5768-2008, ss.3, 36 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

An adult declines a vaccine the state recommends or mandates for adults (score the strictest adult mandate in force in the last 5 years).

Israel never mandated COVID-19 vaccination for adults, but the Ministry of Health's Green Pass limited entry to gyms, hotels, theatres and events to vaccinated or recovered people. The NBC source covers the pass in February 2021, outside the five-year window. We did not open a source for the later rules: the pass was reinstated in mid-2021, needed a booster from October 2021, allowed a test instead of vaccination, and ended in early 2022. There is no adult mandate in force now.

Sources: NBC News: Israel's Green Pass vaccination certificate, 21 Feb 2021

A competent adult with a terminal illness and under 6 months to live asks their doctor for lethal medication to take themselves.

Causing a person to commit suicide by persuasion or advice, or assisting a suicide, carries up to 20 years (Penal Law s.302). The Dying Patient Law allows withholding treatment but says expressly that it does not permit an act that assists suicide, even at the dying patient's request (s.20), or an act intended to kill (s.19). No doctor provides lethal medication in practice, so there are no prosecutions to report; patients who want it travel to Switzerland.

Sources: Penal Law 5737-1977 (Hebrew Wikisource text) · Dying Patient Law 5766-2005, ss.19-20 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

A competent adult with unbearable but non-terminal suffering (e.g. advanced multiple sclerosis) asks their doctor for the same.

The Penal Law makes assisting suicide a crime with up to 20 years whether or not the person is terminally ill (s.302). The Dying Patient Law covers only patients with under six months to live, and even for them it does not permit assisted suicide (s.20). No lawful route exists for non-terminal suffering.

Sources: Penal Law 5737-1977 (Hebrew Wikisource text) · Dying Patient Law 5766-2005, ss.19-20 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

A layperson gets lethal medication for a competent friend who has clearly asked to die, and is present when the friend takes it. No payment.

Assisting a person to commit suicide carries up to 20 years regardless of motive or payment (Penal Law s.302). We found no prosecution guidance that exempts compassionate cases and no published sentencing data for lay helpers, so df assumes prosecution with some leniency at sentencing.

Sources: Penal Law 5737-1977 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person is found with 5 grams of cannabis for personal use.

Possessing a dangerous drug for personal use carries up to 3 years or a fine (Dangerous Drugs Ordinance s.7(c)). The 2019 special-fine regime, a NIS 1,000 administrative fine for a first adult offence of possessing cannabis for personal use, was a three-year temporary provision; it expired on 1 April 2022 and s.7(c1) is now marked lapsed. Police and prosecutors usually close first-time adult cases without charge, but we found no enforcement data after 2022, so df rests on the law plus earlier practice.

Sources: Dangerous Drugs Ordinance [New Version] 5733-1973, ss.7, 13, 19A (Hebrew Wikisource text) · Dangerous Drugs (Special Fine Offence - Temporary Provision) Law 5778-2018 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person is found with one personal dose of psilocybin mushrooms or MDMA.

Possessing MDMA or psilocybin for personal use carries up to 3 years or a fine (Dangerous Drugs Ordinance s.7(c)), and no fine-only regime has ever applied to drugs other than cannabis. A first-time adult user is usually arrested and questioned and may be offered a conditional arrangement in place of an indictment. We found no national prosecution figures.

Sources: Dangerous Drugs Ordinance [New Version] 5733-1973, ss.7, 13, 19A (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person sells 30 grams of cannabis to another adult.

Trading in or supplying a dangerous drug, paid or not, is prohibited (Dangerous Drugs Ordinance s.13) and carries up to 20 years (s.19A). For a small sale such as 30 g of cannabis, courts typically impose a few months of community service or short prison terms plus a suspended sentence; we did not find sentencing statistics.

Sources: Dangerous Drugs Ordinance [New Version] 5733-1973, ss.7, 13, 19A (Hebrew Wikisource text)

Two adults agree to have sex for money, in private, with no third party involved.

Selling sex is legal. Buying sex, or being in a place used for prostitution in order to buy, is an administrative offence with a fixed NIS 2,000 fine, doubled for a repeat offence (Prohibition of Consumption of Prostitution Services Law ss.2-4). The law took effect in July 2020 and was extended to 2030. The prosecution may also bring it as a fine-only criminal offence. Enforcement is sparse; we did not find published fine counts.

Sources: Prohibition of Consumption of Prostitution Services Law 5779-2019 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

Three consenting adults want to live together as a family, share property, and make binding arrangements for inheritance, medical decisions and parenting.

Bigamy (marrying while married) carries up to 5 years (Penal Law s.176), but it covers only marriage, so three adults may live together freely. They can share property and make wills, contracts and medical powers of attorney. Israeli law recognises at most two legal parents, so parenthood and some family-law rights cannot be shared among three.

Sources: Penal Law 5737-1977 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

Parents want to homeschool their 10-year-old using their own curriculum.

Parents must make sure the child attends a recognised school; if not, each parent faces 2 months or a fine (Compulsory Education Law s.4). The Minister may exempt a child if there are special reasons and the child receives systematic private teaching that satisfies the Minister, on any conditions the Minister sets (s.5(b)). The Ministry approves families after a home visit and a written plan; estimates put homeschooling at 500 to 1,000 families. We found no official approval-rate figures.

Sources: Compulsory Education Law 5709-1949, ss.4-5 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The state wants to read the person's end-to-end encrypted messages, although they are suspected of no serious crime.

Police wiretaps need an order from a district court president, and only for felonies (Wiretap Law s.6). Security wiretaps are authorised by a minister, not a judge, on the request of a security agency (s.4). The Shin Bet receives bulk communications data from telecom providers and uses it on the authority of its own head (GSS Law s.11); this data was used to track the whole population during COVID-19. There is no key-disclosure law or backdoor mandate. In 2022 the police admitted misusing spyware.

Sources: Wiretap Law 5739-1979, ss.4, 6 (Hebrew Wikisource text) · General Security Service Law 5762-2002, s.11 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person wants a prepaid SIM card and an internet connection without giving their identity.

Mobile operators sell prepaid SIM cards only against an identity document, under licence conditions set by the Ministry of Communications, and there is no real-name rule for online services. We could not open a primary source for the SIM-registration rule; this score rests on the operators' standard practice.

Sources: Communications (Telecommunications and Broadcasting) Law 5742-1982, s.30 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person wants to pay a dealer 15,000 USD (or the local equivalent) in cash for a used car.

A private person may not pay a business more than NIS 6,000 in cash for a transaction (Law for Reducing the Use of Cash s.2(c) and First Schedule), so paying a dealer about NIS 50,000 in cash for a car is barred. For the buyer it is a criminal offence with a fine of up to 30% of the payment (ss.6(c), 20), and the dealer faces an administrative penalty (s.6). Dealers refuse such payments, so in practice the sale is done by bank transfer.

Sources: Law for Reducing the Use of Cash 5778-2018 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person is walking down a public street with no identity document on them. They are not suspected of anything. A police officer stops them and asks who they are and to see ID.

Every resident aged 16 or over must carry an identity card at all times and show it to a police officer or soldier performing their duties on demand, with no suspicion needed (Identity Card Carrying and Displaying Law s.2). The penalty is a NIS 5,000 fine, but no one may be prosecuted if they show the card at a police station within five days (s.4). Police may detain a person to establish identity only on reasonable suspicion of an offence (Arrests Law s.67). ID checks are common in Jerusalem and at protests, and fall disproportionately on Arab and Ethiopian-Israeli citizens.

Sources: Identity Card Carrying and Displaying Law 5743-1982 (Hebrew Wikisource text) · Criminal Procedure (Enforcement Powers - Arrests) Law 5756-1996 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person wants to found a new religion, or an association, and hold weekly meetings without registering it.

Two or more adults may register a non-profit association (amuta) to gain legal personality (Amutot Law ss.1-2), but registration is optional, and unincorporated groups and new religions can meet freely. Only groups designated as terrorist organisations are banned. Personal-status matters are handled by recognised religious communities, but that does not limit worship or meetings.

Sources: Amutot (Non-profit Associations) Law 5740-1980 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person organises a protest of 50 people in a public square with one day's notice to nobody. It is peaceful.

A gathering of 50 or more people to hear speeches on a political subject needs a police licence where the district commander has published a notice requiring one (Police Ordinance ss.83-85). An unlicensed assembly is treated as an unlawful assembly (s.89), and taking part carries up to 1 year (Penal Law s.151). The High Court treats licences as the norm, and weekly mass protests went ahead throughout 2023-2025. But police restricted Arab citizens' ceasefire protests and made unnecessary arrests (Freedom House 2025), so the outcome depends on who protests and about what.

Sources: Police Ordinance [New Version] 5731-1971, ss.83-89 (Hebrew Wikisource text) · Penal Law 5737-1977 (Hebrew Wikisource text) · Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2025: Israel

The person publicly announces they have left the country's dominant religion, or Islam, and criticises it.

There is no apostasy offence, and leaving a religion has no civil effect. A publication that grossly offends others' religious beliefs carries 1 year (Penal Law s.173), but sharp criticism of a religion is not gross offence in the courts' reading, and we found no recent prosecution for criticising a religion. Muslim apostates in Arab towns can face threats from family and community, where violent crime is poorly policed.

Sources: Penal Law 5737-1977 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person runs a free, non-commercial online group for women. They refuse membership to anyone they judge to be male, including a transgender woman who applies. She complains.

The anti-discrimination law covers anyone providing a public service, including culture or entertainment services offered to the public, whether or not for profit or for a fee (s.3(b)). It forbids discrimination on grounds that include sex and sexual orientation, but not gender identity (s.3(a)). It is not discrimination when a non-profit organisation or club acts to promote the special needs of its members' group (s.3(d)(2)), which covers a free women-only group. Discrimination is a civil wrong with damages of up to NIS 50,000 without proof of loss (s.5) and a fine-only offence (s.9). We found no case brought against a women's group.

Sources: Prohibition of Discrimination in Products, Services and Entry into Places of Entertainment and Public Places Law 5761-2000 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person and 1,000 others form a political party whose platform is to stop immigration by people of one race and repeal anti-discrimination law, by peaceful and lawful means. They apply to register it and run candidates.

A party may not be registered if its aims or acts include incitement to racism (Parties Law s.5(2)). A list or candidate whose aims or acts include incitement to racism may not run, and disqualifying a candidate needs Supreme Court approval (Basic Law: The Knesset s.7A). Kach was barred in 1988 on this ground. A platform to stop immigration by one race would probably be treated as incitement to racism, but the Supreme Court usually overturns Central Elections Committee disqualifications, and far-right lists with harsh anti-Arab platforms have run and sat in government. Disqualification petitions are filed at every election.

Sources: Parties Law 5752-1992, s.5 (Hebrew Wikisource text) · Basic Law: The Knesset, s.7A (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person is a junior civil servant. Off duty and under a pseudonym, they post sharp criticism of their department's policy and of the minister. They reveal nothing confidential. They are identified.

A civil servant commits a disciplinary offence by conduct unbecoming their post, or conduct likely to damage the image of the civil service (Civil Service (Discipline) Law s.17(3)). The civil service code (Takshir) restricts public criticism of the government's or the ministry's policy. The disciplinary court can impose penalties up to dismissal without severance (s.34). Junior staff may join political parties and protests, and dismissals for anonymous off-duty posts are rare, but we found no ruling that clearly protects such posts.

Sources: Civil Service (Discipline) Law 5723-1963, ss.17, 34 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person wants to move abroad permanently, taking 1 million USD of savings and shares.

When a resident stops being an Israeli resident, their assets are treated as sold the day before (Income Tax Ordinance s.100A(a)). Payment can be deferred until actual sale, and the tax then falls only on the part of the gain earned while resident, calculated on a time basis (s.100A(b), (d)). There are no capital controls or exit permits.

Sources: Income Tax Ordinance [New Version], s.100A (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person, who already holds another citizenship, wants to renounce this one.

An adult citizen who does not live in Israel, or who declares they wish to stop being a resident, may declare in writing that they renounce citizenship (Nationality Law s.10(a)-(b)). Renunciation takes effect only with the Interior Minister's consent (s.10(e)). The Interior Ministry's online guidance reportedly also requires another nationality and no outstanding military-service obligation; we could not open that gov.il page, so these conditions, the fee and the processing time are not cited.

Sources: Nationality Law 5712-1952, s.10 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

Police find 20,000 USD in cash in the person's car at a traffic stop. They charge no crime.

Police may seize an object without a court order if they have reasonable grounds to believe it was used in or is the proceeds of an offence (Arrest and Search Ordinance s.32). If no case is filed within six months, the police must return it, unless a magistrate extends the period on application (s.35); the owner can apply to the court for its return earlier (s.34). Civil forfeiture under the money-laundering law applies only when the suspect cannot be charged because they are abroad or cannot be found, or when the property is found after conviction (Money Laundering Law s.22). Cash seizures at traffic stops are common in anti-crime operations, and owners must litigate to get the money back.

Sources: Criminal Procedure (Arrest and Search) Ordinance [New Version] 5729-1969, ss.32-35 (Hebrew Wikisource text) · Prohibition on Money Laundering Law 5760-2000, s.22 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person is arrested for a non-violent offence carrying up to 2 years in prison. They have a home and a job.

A person arrested without a warrant must be brought before a judge as soon as possible and within 24 hours (Arrests Law s.29). Detention after indictment needs a ground such as danger or flight risk, and only if release on bail and conditions cannot achieve the same purpose (s.21(b)(1)). For a non-violent suspect with a home and a job, release on a cash deposit or third-party guarantee is the norm. War-time emergency regulations extended detention periods only for security suspects.

Sources: Criminal Procedure (Enforcement Powers - Arrests) Law 5756-1996 (Hebrew Wikisource text)

The person wants to build a 20 m² wooden shed on their own rural land.

Erecting any building needs a permit (Planning and Building Law s.145). The only permit-exempt shed is one storage shed per home of up to 6 m², built of light materials and notified within 45 days (Exempt Works Regulations reg 29), so a 20 m² shed needs a permit. Building without one is a crime with up to 2 years and fines (s.243). Rural land is usually zoned agricultural, which limits permits. Enforcement by administrative fines and demolition orders is heavy in Arab and Bedouin communities and lighter elsewhere.

Sources: Planning and Building Law 5725-1965, ss.145, 243 (Hebrew Wikisource text) · Planning and Building Regulations (Works and Structures Exempt from Permit), reg. 29 (Hebrew Wikisource text)