Quick Answer: Foreign parties can arbitrate in English in Israel. Both the Arbitration Law 1968 and the International Commercial Arbitration Law 2024 (ICAL 2024) give parties full freedom to designate any language for their proceedings. If your contract includes an English-language arbitration clause, Israeli courts and arbitration institutions will respect it. Without a clause, the arbitral tribunal decides — and may default to Hebrew. Securing the right language from the outset is far easier than fighting over it once a dispute arises.

When a foreign company or individual enters a contract with an Israeli counterparty, the arbitration clause is often the last thing anyone reads carefully. Then a dispute erupts, and suddenly you are staring at correspondence in Hebrew, being told the hearing will take place in Tel Aviv in a language you do not speak. Can you insist on English? And if so, how?

The answer is almost always yes, but only if you structured things correctly before the dispute started. This guide covers how arbitration language works under Israeli law, what the major institutions require, what translation costs to expect, and how language affects enforcement of the award.

1. Hebrew in Israeli Courts — and Why Arbitration Is Different

Israel's official court language is Hebrew. Under the Courts Law 1984, all court proceedings — pleadings, evidence, rulings, and judgments — are conducted in Hebrew. A foreign party who does not speak Hebrew must engage a Hebrew-speaking attorney and work through translations. This is not optional, and there is no general right to have court proceedings conducted in another language simply because one party is foreign.

Arbitration is a different world entirely. Unlike litigation, arbitration is a creature of contract. The parties define the rules, including the language. Israeli law has never required arbitral proceedings to be conducted in Hebrew, and the courts have consistently respected language choices made in arbitration agreements.

This distinction matters enormously in practice. A foreign investor disputing a real estate contract, a tech company pursuing a breach-of-contract claim, or a distributor seeking damages from an Israeli supplier can each avoid the Hebrew-court barrier altogether by insisting on English-language arbitration. The key is locking in that choice before any dispute begins.

2. Your Legal Freedom to Choose the Arbitration Language

Two statutory frameworks govern this question, depending on whether your dispute is classified as domestic or international.

For domestic arbitration — typically disputes between parties who are both in Israel, or where the contract has no foreign element — the governing law is the Arbitration Law 1968 (*חוק הבוררות, התשכ"ח-1968*). This law gives parties very wide procedural freedom. It contains no provision mandating Hebrew, meaning parties are free to agree on any language. Israeli courts have long held that what is not prohibited is permitted in arbitration procedure.

For international arbitration — disputes involving at least one foreign party, foreign performance, or a significant connection to another country — the International Commercial Arbitration Law 2024 (ICAL 2024) now applies. Enacted by the Knesset on 12 February 2024, the ICAL 2024 is modelled on the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration and explicitly addresses language at Article 22:

  • The parties may agree on the language or languages to be used in the arbitral proceedings.
  • Failing such agreement, the arbitral tribunal shall determine the language or languages to be used.
  • Unless otherwise specified, a language designation applies to any written statement, hearing, and award.

For most foreign parties, the ICAL 2024 is the relevant framework. Its explicit authorisation of English (or any language) is a significant protection. It removes any ambiguity that existed under the 1968 Law and places Israel firmly in line with international practice.

3. Drafting a Language Clause That Actually Works

Freedom to choose a language means nothing if the choice is not written down. Disputes over language almost always come from vague contracts, not from unclear law.

First: do not assume that signing a contract in English means your arbitration will be in English. Israeli courts have held that the contract language and the arbitration language are separate matters. Write it out explicitly: "The arbitral proceedings, including all submissions, hearings, correspondence, and the award, shall be conducted in the English language." That sentence belongs inside the dispute-resolution clause itself — not buried in a definitions section or a general rules-of-interpretation provision, where a tribunal may not treat it as governing the arbitration.

Second, address document translation directly. Specify whether Hebrew-language documents must be translated and who pays. A workable clause: "All documents submitted as evidence shall be in the language of the proceedings. A party submitting a document in another language shall provide a certified translation at its own expense."

Third, if you are using an arbitration institution — ICCA, ICC, LCIA — confirm that your language choice overrides any institutional default. Most institutional rules defer to party agreement, but you want that on the record.

In Practice: Under Article 22 of the ICAL 2024, the language of arbitration is party-defined — and that definition must appear in the contract itself. When filing a request for arbitration with the Israel Centre for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) and designating English, you pay a standard registration fee of approximately NIS 2,500–3,500 (including VAT) regardless of the language chosen — ICCA does not surcharge for English proceedings. ICCA issues its first procedural order, which confirms the language designation, within approximately 14–21 days of the tribunal being constituted. If language is disputed at this stage, resolution adds another 30–60 days. A properly drafted clause eliminates that delay entirely.
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4. When There Is No Language Agreement: What Happens?

If the arbitration clause is silent on language — which is common in shorter commercial contracts — the question goes to the arbitral tribunal. Under Article 22 of the ICAL 2024, the tribunal has full discretion to decide.

How tribunals exercise that discretion varies, but several factors commonly appear in Israeli arbitral practice:

  • The language of the contract carries the most weight. An English-language contract usually leads to an English arbitration, because the parties clearly chose to conduct their commercial relationship in English.
  • Nationalities matter. Where one party is Israeli and one is foreign, tribunals often settle on English as neutral ground both sides can manage.
  • The seat of arbitration has some influence, though it is not decisive. Arbitration seated in Israel does not automatically mean Hebrew proceedings.
  • Practical efficiency plays a role. If all witnesses speak English and the documents are in English, a tribunal has no good reason to order Hebrew proceedings.

A foreign party who raises the language question at the first procedural conference is likely to get English if the contract was in English and the underlying correspondence was too. Waiting until the hearing date to object is a different situation: by then, submissions may already have been filed in Hebrew, and overturning the language of the proceedings is burdensome. Raise it in your first communication with the tribunal, before any substantive submissions are made.

5. ICCA and Other Institutional Rules on Language

If your arbitration is administered by an institution, that institution's rules will address language. The most commonly used institutions in Israeli arbitration each handle this slightly differently.

ICCA, the Israel Centre for Commercial Arbitration and the main domestic arbitration body, allows proceedings in Hebrew or English. Absent party agreement, the tribunal decides. In practice, most ICCA cases involving a foreign party proceed in English.

The ICC applies Article 20 of its Arbitration Rules when used for Israel-seated cases: the tribunal determines the language if parties have not agreed, taking into account the language of the contract and other circumstances. ICC arbitrations in Israel with a foreign party involved almost always land in English.

LCIA Rule 17 takes a slightly different approach — the language of the arbitration is the language of the arbitration agreement, unless parties agree otherwise. That gives the contract even more direct control over the outcome.

Ad hoc UNCITRAL proceedings follow Article 22 of the Model Law, which is the same framework the ICAL 2024 is built on. Absent agreement, the tribunal decides.

What all of these share: party agreement controls. Every major institution will honor a language designation in the contract. Without one, you are at the tribunal's discretion.

6. Translating Documents, Evidence, and Witness Testimony

Even in an English-language arbitration seated in Israel, a large portion of the evidence may originate in Hebrew: government records, corporate filings, property documents (nessech mekarka'in — נסח מקרקעין), court decisions, communications between Israeli parties. Managing those translations adds to both the cost and the timeline.

For evidence submissions, parties typically rely on certified translations rather than informal renderings. A certified translation (tirgum me'ushar — תרגום מאושר) is produced by a sworn court translator (meturgeman beit mishpat musmakh — מתורגמן בית משפט מוסמך) registered with the Israeli Ministry of Justice. The translator's certificate confirms accuracy and completeness — this is the form Israeli courts and enforcement bodies accept.

Witness testimony works differently. If a witness does not speak the arbitration language, live interpretation at the hearing is standard. The interpreter does not need to be a certified court translator, but should be fluent and neutral. Parties arrange and pay for their own interpreters; the tribunal can allocate those costs in the final costs award.

Expert witnesses often submit reports in their own language regardless of the arbitration language. An Israeli expert in an English-language arbitration provides an English translation of their report; a foreign expert in a Hebrew arbitration does the reverse. Sort this out early. Waiting until the briefing deadline to commission a translation is a reliable way to miss it.

Israeli government documents — land registry extracts, corporate registry printouts, Tax Authority notices — are issued in Hebrew and require certified translation before you can submit them in an English-language proceeding. Sworn translators are in demand; a longer document may take a week or more. Build that into your document production schedule.

7. Enforcement and Language Requirements

Winning an arbitration in English is only part of it. Enforcing the award — whether in Israel or abroad — brings the language question back. The rules differ depending on where you are enforcing.

To enforce an English-language award in Israel, you petition the competent District Court under Section 28 of the Arbitration Law 1968 (for domestic arbitrations) or the corresponding enforcement provisions of the ICAL 2024 (for international ones). Israeli courts require all documents — including the arbitral award — to be in Hebrew or accompanied by a certified Hebrew translation. An English award submitted without translation will not be processed.

Enforcing a foreign arbitral award in Israel follows the New York Convention. Article IV(2) requires a certified translation of the award if it is not in an official language of the enforcement country. For Israel, that means certified Hebrew. The court reads the translated version when deciding the enforcement petition, not the original.

Going the other direction — enforcing an Israeli award in the UK, US, or Australia — you generally need to translate into the official language of the country where you are enforcing. If the award was already in English, that step disappears entirely for English-speaking jurisdictions. That alone is a practical argument for insisting on English proceedings from the outset.

Once the court grants enforcement, the file moves to the Execution Office (Hotza'a Le'Poal — הוצאה לפועל). That office works in Hebrew and will require certified Hebrew translations of any English-language documents in the enforcement file.

In Practice: When petitioning the Tel Aviv District Court to enforce an English-language arbitral award under Section 28 of the Arbitration Law 1968 (or the enforcement provisions of the ICAL 2024 for international awards), you must attach a certified Hebrew translation of the full award. Israeli sworn court translators (*meturgemanim musmakhim*) registered with the Ministry of Justice typically charge NIS 400–700 per page for legal translation. A 10-page award therefore costs approximately NIS 4,000–7,000 in translation fees alone. Allow 5–10 business days for translation. Once filed with translation, the enforcement petition is typically listed for a hearing within 30–60 days, with a final court order issued 3–6 months after initial filing in Tel Aviv. Engage your Israeli lawyer early so translation and filing happen in parallel.