Quick Answer: Israel's Succession Law 5725-1965 lets you leave any part of your estate to a charitable organization. The organization must be a registered body corporate: an Israeli Amuta (registered non-profit association) with a valid Section 46 certificate from the Israel Tax Authority, a recognized public institution, or a foreign charity the ITA has formally approved. A bequest to an unrecognized or dissolved charity lapses entirely unless your will names a substitute. Real property bequests to qualifying charities may attract zero betterment levy and zero purchase tax under the Real Estate Taxation Law 5723-1963.

Many diaspora Jews and foreign nationals who own Israeli property want to direct some or all of it to charitable causes when they die. The motivation ranges from supporting Israeli cultural and religious institutions, to memorializing relatives who were killed in the Holocaust, to benefiting organizations that serve Israeli society. Israeli law fully accommodates all of this.

What catches people by surprise is the qualification question. Not every organization you know by name can receive a direct bequest under Israeli law, and the way you identify the charity in your will determines whether the gift will actually reach its intended destination. A will that says "I leave my Tel Aviv apartment to the Red Cross" may produce a very different outcome than the testator expected.

This guide covers the legal framework, which charities qualify and how to verify them, the specific challenges of leaving Israeli property to a US or European charity, the tax picture, how to draft the bequest so it holds up in probate, and what the probate process actually looks like for a charitable beneficiary.

1. What the Succession Law Says

Under the Succession Law 5725-1965 (Chok Hayerusha), a testator has broad freedom to leave property to whomever they choose. Section 1 of the law defines "person" to include a body corporate, which means a registered company or association has the same legal capacity to receive a testamentary bequest as an individual heir.

Three types of charitable bequest are common in Israeli wills:

  • A specific bequest directs the executor to transfer a named asset to the charity: "I leave my apartment at [address] to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem."
  • A pecuniary bequest leaves a fixed sum: "I leave NIS 200,000 to the Israel Cancer Association."
  • A residuary bequest leaves whatever remains of the estate after other legacies are satisfied: "The residue of my estate goes to Yad Vashem."

You can also attach conditions. A bequest that reads "I leave NIS 150,000 to [Amuta name] provided the funds are used for a youth scholarship program" is valid. Courts cannot force a charity to honor the condition by withholding the funds from its operating budget, but a well-drafted will can direct that the funds be held in trust until the condition is confirmed or appoint the executor as a monitor.

What happens if the charity ceases to exist

Section 35 of the Succession Law addresses lapse: if a named beneficiary ceases to exist before the testator dies, the bequest lapses and the property falls back into the residue of the estate (or, if there is no residual clause, passes by intestacy rules). There is no mechanism for a court to redirect a lapsed bequest to a "similar" charity without express authority in the will. An Israeli attorney who drafted a will for a testator in 2018 naming an organization that subsequently dissolved in 2023 will tell you the lapse rule causes real disputes. The solution is to include a substitution clause and check the charity's current status every few years.

2. Which Organizations Can Receive a Bequest in Israel

Because a bequest requires the beneficiary to be a legal person capable of holding property, only registered entities qualify. The categories that work in practice are:

Israeli Amutot with Section 46 status

An Amuta is a registered non-profit association under the Associations Law 5740-1980, administered by the Registrar of Non-Profit Organizations within the Ministry of Justice. There are roughly 40,000 registered Amutot in Israel. Most charities operating in Israel are organized as Amutot.

The Section 46 certificate matters separately: it is issued by the Israel Tax Authority (ITA) under Section 46 of the Income Tax Ordinance and authorizes the Amuta to issue tax receipts for donations during the donor's lifetime. For bequests, the Section 46 status is what triggers the purchase tax and betterment levy exemptions under the Real Estate Taxation Law (discussed in Section 4 below). Without it, the bequest may still be valid but the estate loses the tax exemptions.

You can verify an Amuta's current registration status and Section 46 certificate on the Registrar of Non-Profit Organizations database at the Israeli Government Portal (gov.il). Check both the registration (active vs. dissolved) and the Section 46 certificate expiry date: certificates require periodic renewal and some Amutot let them lapse.

Recognized public institutions

Several major Israeli institutions are established by specific legislation rather than as ordinary Amutot: Yad Vashem (Chok Yad VaShem 5713-1953), the Jewish Agency (Chok HaSochnut HaYehudit), the Weizmann Institute of Science, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the major hospital networks. These institutions have statutory authority to receive bequests and generally hold automatic exemptions from real estate taxes on charitable transfers.

Foreign charities formally recognized by the ITA

A foreign charity can receive a bequest of Israeli assets, but only if the ITA has granted it formal recognition under Section 46(a)(1)(h) of the Income Tax Ordinance. The ITA maintains a published list of recognized foreign charitable institutions. Recognition is not automatic: the foreign organization must apply, demonstrate charitable purposes, and meet financial reporting requirements. The list is updated periodically and is available through the ITA's website.

Many well-known international Jewish organizations are not on the list because they never applied or because their Israeli fundraising activities run through an Israeli affiliate (which does hold Section 46 status). This distinction matters enormously when you write a will.

In Practice: A retired businessman in New York wanted to leave his Tel Aviv apartment (estimated NIS 3.8 million) to UJA-Federation of New York. His Israeli estate attorney searched the ITA's recognized foreign charities list under Section 46(a)(1)(h) and found that UJA-Federation of New York is not listed as a recognized Israeli charitable institution. A bequest in that name would still be valid as a testamentary direction, but the estate would not qualify for the purchase tax and betterment levy exemptions. The attorney proposed an alternative: name Keren Hayesod (United Israel Appeal), which is a registered Israeli Amuta (registration number 580100793) with an active Section 46 certificate and serves as the Israeli affiliate through which UJA-Federation operates its Israel programs. The testator agreed. The amended will identifies Keren Hayesod by its full Hebrew name (Keren Hayesod - United Israel Appeal), its Amuta registration number, and its Section 46 certificate number. A substitution clause names the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as the fallback beneficiary.

3. Leaving Israeli Real Property to a Foreign Charity

If you want to leave an Israeli apartment or land holding to an organization whose home jurisdiction is outside Israel, you have three practical options.

Option 1: Name the Israeli affiliate

Most major international Jewish charitable organizations operate through an Israeli entity. The Israeli entity is typically an Amuta with Section 46 status, even though the parent organization is a US, UK, or Australian registered charity. Bequeathing to the Israeli affiliate delivers the assets to the same organizational family while complying fully with Israeli law and preserving the tax exemptions.

Common examples:

  • American Friends of [institution] have corresponding Israeli entities that are the direct Israeli legal bodies
  • Jewish National Fund operates in Israel as Keren Kayemet LeIsrael, a registered Israeli public institution
  • American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) has an Israeli operational entity
  • Hadassah Medical Organization operates as an Israeli registered entity

Always confirm the Israeli affiliate's current Amuta registration number and Section 46 status before finalizing the will, because organizational restructurings occasionally change which entity holds the active certificate.

Option 2: Sell the property and leave the proceeds

A pecuniary bequest of cash can go to any organization capable of receiving a bank transfer, including unrecognized foreign charities, because cash is not subject to Israeli real estate tax. If your goal is to benefit a foreign charity and you do not care specifically about transferring the property in kind, a will clause directing the executor to sell the Israeli apartment and distribute the net proceeds (after betterment levy, probate costs, and any mortgage clearance) to the named foreign charity is legally straightforward. The charity receives a wire transfer from the Israeli estate account.

The tax on the estate side is the same whether the property goes to a recognized charity or is sold: the estate owes betterment levy on the gain unless a single-apartment exemption applies. The difference is that a recognized Amuta receiving the property directly gets the full exemptions; a foreign charity receiving the cash gets whatever is left after tax.

Option 3: ITA recognition application

If the foreign charity is large enough and willing to go through the process, it can apply to the ITA for formal recognition under Section 46(a)(1)(h). This takes 6 to 18 months and requires significant documentation. For most bequests, Option 1 or Option 2 is more practical. But if you are leaving a very large amount and the organization has the capacity to apply, recognition is worth pursuing before the will is finalized.

In Practice: A retired academic in London owned a Jerusalem apartment (NIS 2.1 million) and wanted to leave it to a British-registered university foundation that supports archaeology. The foundation had no Israeli affiliate and had not applied for ITA recognition. Her Israeli attorney advised her to use Option 2: the will directs her executor to sell the Jerusalem apartment through a licensed Israeli real estate agent, pay all taxes and expenses from the proceeds, and wire the net amount to the foundation's UK bank account. The betterment levy calculation at the law office estimated approximately NIS 110,000 in mas shevach based on the original 1997 purchase price (CPI-adjusted to NIS 780,000) against the current NIS 2.1 million value, at the linear rate under Section 48a of the Real Estate Taxation Law 5723-1963 (the apartment did not qualify for single-apartment exemption because she also owned a second Israeli property). After betterment levy, estate attorney fees, and the NIS 2,500 probate filing fee at the Jerusalem Family Court Inheritance Registrar, the estimated net transfer to the UK foundation was NIS 1.95 million.

4. Tax Treatment of Charitable Bequests

Israel has no inheritance tax, no estate tax, and no gift tax in the ordinary sense. A bequest of cash or personal property to a charity costs the estate nothing in direct tax. The more complex picture involves Israeli real property.

Betterment levy (mas shevach) on the estate

When real property passes from the estate to any beneficiary, the estate owes betterment levy (mas shevach) under Section 7 of the Real Estate Taxation Law 5723-1963 on the gain from the CPI-adjusted original acquisition price to the date of death.

Section 62 of the Real Estate Taxation Law exempts transfers to recognized public institutions (including Amutot with active Section 46 status) from betterment levy when the receiving institution commits to using the property for its charitable purpose. This exemption can be worth a significant amount: on a Tel Aviv apartment bought 20 years ago, the betterment levy exposure could easily reach NIS 200,000 to NIS 600,000. Getting the exemption depends on the Amuta filing the appropriate declaration with the ITA Tax on Real Estate office (Misrad Mas Shevach veRechisha) within 30 days of the probate order.

If the property goes to a foreign charity that does not hold Section 46 recognition, the estate owes full betterment levy at the standard rate.

Purchase tax (mas rechisha) on the charity

Normally the buyer or recipient of Israeli real property pays purchase tax under Section 9 of the Real Estate Taxation Law. Section 64 of that law exempts transfers to recognized charitable organizations entirely, provided the organization holds a valid Section 46 certificate and the property is used for charitable purposes.

For a foreign charity receiving Israeli real estate without Section 46 recognition, purchase tax applies at the full non-resident scale: 8% on the first NIS 6,055,070 (brackets frozen until 15 January 2028) and 10% above that. On a NIS 2 million apartment this is NIS 160,000. That is money coming out of the charitable bequest.

No Israeli tax on cash bequests

A bequest of cash, bank account balances, shares in an Israeli company, or bonds to any charitable organization carries no Israeli tax, whether or not the charity holds Section 46 status. The practical consequence is that leaving an Israeli bank account or stock portfolio to a foreign charity costs the estate nothing in Israeli tax, while leaving the apartment directly to the same charity can be very expensive.

In Practice: A widow in Toronto died in February 2026 owning an Israeli apartment in Ra'anana (NIS 2.4 million, purchased in 2003 at NIS 540,000 CPI-adjusted to NIS 1.05 million) and a Bank Hapoalim savings account with NIS 380,000. Her will left both to Yad Vashem. Because Yad Vashem is a statutory public institution established under the Yad Vashem Law 5713-1953 and holds a permanent Section 46 certificate, the estate attorney applied for both exemptions at the Ra'anana ITA Tax on Real Estate office (Rechov Ahuza 1, Ra'anana) within 30 days of the probate order issued by the Inheritance Registrar in April 2026. The ITA confirmed zero mas shevach and zero purchase tax on the apartment transfer. The bank account passed to Yad Vashem directly under the succession order with no Israeli tax. Total Israeli tax cost on the entire NIS 2.78 million estate: zero. Estate attorney fees and the NIS 2,500 probate filing fee were the only costs. The Ra'anana ITA office processed the exemption confirmation in 6 weeks.

5. Drafting the Bequest: What Must Be in Your Will

Three drafting failures account for most charitable bequest disputes in Israeli probate: the wrong name, no registration number, and no substitution clause. Fixing them in advance costs nothing. Fixing them after the testator dies can take years.

Use the full legal name, not the common name

The legal name of a charity is the name under which it is registered at the Registrar of Non-Profit Organizations or in the statutory instrument that established it. Many organizations are known publicly by an English name that differs from their Hebrew legal name, or by an abbreviated name that does not appear in any registry. "The Jewish Agency" is commonly used but the registered legal entity is HaSochnut HaYehudit LeEretz Yisrael. Courts will generally try to interpret the testator's intent, but they cannot always resolve ambiguity, and a disputed identification can delay probate by 12 to 24 months.

Write both the Hebrew legal name and the English name (if different) and include the Amuta registration number or company number from the official registry.

Include a substitution clause

If the named charity ceases to exist, is struck off the registry, loses its Section 46 status, or declines the bequest within the acceptance period, the bequest lapses under Section 35 of the Succession Law. Include a fallback: "If [primary charity] does not exist or declines the bequest, I leave this [asset/amount] to [alternative charity], [registration number]." The alternative should be in the same general charitable field as the primary choice.

Define the purpose clause narrowly enough to be meaningful, broadly enough to remain workable

A purpose clause that reads "for scholarships for Ethiopian immigrant students" is specific enough to express the testator's intent but narrow enough that if Ethiopian immigration patterns change, the charity can no longer comply. A better approach: "for educational purposes, with preference for immigrant student support, at the charity's discretion." Courts honor purpose clauses as expressions of intent, not as legally enforceable obligations, unless a trust structure is created separately.

Consider coordinating your Israeli will with your home-country will

If you have a will in the United States, United Kingdom, or another country covering your worldwide assets, and you also have an Israeli will covering only your Israeli assets, make sure the two documents do not conflict on the charitable allocations. An Israeli will that says "100% of my Israeli estate to [charity]" and a US will that says "my entire estate, including all foreign holdings, to my children" creates a direct conflict. Your Israeli and overseas attorneys should review both documents together.

In Practice: A German testator drafted an Israeli will in 2018 naming "the Weizmann Institute" as a residuary beneficiary. When his estate was filed for probate at the Tel Aviv Family Court Inheritance Registrar in March 2026, the probate attorney confirmed the correct legal entity: The Weizmann Institute of Science (Machon Weizmann LeMada), Amuta number 540067456, with a current Section 46 certificate. The will did not include a registration number or the full Hebrew legal name, but the Tel Aviv Family Court held that the reference was sufficiently unambiguous to identify the institution. The substitution clause in the will read: "If the Weizmann Institute ceases to exist or declines within 90 days, the residue passes to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HaUniversita HaIvrit BiYerushalayim), registration number 500002289." Because the Weizmann Institute accepted within 45 days, the substitution clause was not triggered. The ITA Tax on Real Estate office confirmed the betterment levy exemption under Section 62 of the Real Estate Taxation Law within 5 weeks of the acceptance letter. Total time from probate application to asset transfer: 9 months.

6. The Probate Process When a Charity Is Named

When an Israeli will names a charitable organization as a beneficiary, probate follows the same basic procedure as any other Israeli will: file for a probate order (tzav kiyum tzavaa) at the Inheritance Registrar under the Family Court, or directly at the Family Court for contested matters.

Filing fee and timeline

The application fee at the Inheritance Registrar is NIS 2,500. For an uncontested will with a clearly identified charitable beneficiary, the probate order typically issues within 4 to 8 months. Add 2 to 3 months if the charitable beneficiary is a foreign organization that needs to produce translated authorization documents.

The charity must formally accept

Under Section 6 of the Succession Law, any beneficiary can renounce their inheritance. This applies to charitable organizations as well. The charity's board or governing body must pass a formal resolution accepting the bequest and authorizing a named representative to sign the acceptance letter. For Israeli Amutot, this means a board resolution signed by two authorized signatories. For foreign charities, the authorization letter must typically be notarized and apostilled before the Israeli probate registrar will accept it.

If the charity does not respond within the period set by the Inheritance Registrar (usually 60 to 90 days after notification), the registrar treats the bequest as declined and applies the substitution clause or the intestacy rules for that portion.

Real property transfer mechanics

When the probate order names a charitable organization as the beneficiary of real property, the estate attorney handles the transfer at the Land Registry (Tabu) in the same way as any inheritance transfer. The additional step is filing with the ITA Tax on Real Estate office within 30 days of the probate order to claim the Section 62 betterment levy exemption and Section 64 purchase tax exemption. Missing the 30-day window does not forfeit the exemption permanently, but it delays the Land Registry registration until a late exemption application is processed.

What if the charity is dissolved by the time probate is filed

The Inheritance Registrar will note that the named beneficiary no longer exists and declare the bequest lapsed. The residue then passes according to the will's substitution clause, or by intestacy if there is none. Heirs who believe the lapse was avoidable (because the testator's intent was to benefit a surviving successor organization) can petition the Family Court for a ruling on intent, but courts apply Section 35 strictly and rarely redirect a lapsed bequest.

In Practice: A diaspora family in London filed a probate application in January 2026 for their father's Israeli estate. His will, drafted in 2019, left NIS 180,000 to "the Israel Cancer Association" (Amuta leMaarav baSartan). The probate attorney confirmed the current legal name: Israel Cancer Association (Igud leMilchamah baSartan), Amuta number 580199066, with a valid Section 46 certificate as of January 2026. The Inheritance Registrar, Tel Aviv Family Court, issued the probate order in May 2026. The association's general secretary provided a board resolution dated April 30, 2026, authorizing acceptance of the bequest and designating a signatory. The NIS 180,000 was transferred by bank wire from the estate account at Bank Leumi, Tel Aviv-Jaffa branch, to the association's account in June 2026. No Israeli tax applied to the cash transfer. Total time from probate filing to payment: 6 months. Attorney fees for the probate (payable from the estate) were approximately NIS 12,000.