Quick Answer: The Prevention of Sexual Harassment Law 5758-1998 (Chok HaMenia Tipolim BehaTaradot Minit) covers every worker in Israel, including foreign nationals and employees of foreign companies. Employers with 25 or more workers must publish a formal anti-harassment policy and appoint a designated prevention officer (ืžืžื•ื ื”). Victims can claim statutory compensation of NIS 50,000 or more at the Regional Labor Court without proving any financial loss. A January 2025 amendment extended these obligations to subcontracted service workers.

Israel's Prevention of Sexual Harassment Law 5758-1998 has been in force since 1998 and it is more demanding than many equivalent statutes abroad. It reaches verbal conduct, repeated unwanted attention, threats, blackmail, and a hostile work environment. Critically for employers, it requires prevention. An employer who did nothing wrong personally can still face a six-figure court order if the right internal procedures were not in place.

For foreign nationals working in Israel, or for overseas companies with Israeli staff, this law deserves attention. The Regional Labor Court (Beit HaDin HaEzori LaAvoda) awards compensation to victims without requiring proof of financial harm. An employer that skipped the required policy, never appointed a prevention officer, or sat on a complaint can face those awards whether the harassment came from a manager or a peer.

1. What Counts as Sexual Harassment Under Israeli Law

Section 3 of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Law 5758-1998 defines prohibited conduct broadly across three main categories.

The first category covers unwanted sexual advances and repeated inappropriate attention: verbal references to a person's sexuality or body after the recipient has made clear they are unwelcome, requests for sexual acts with explicit or implicit threats, and degrading publications about a person's sexuality. A single incident is enough if it is severe enough, such as an indecent act or a direct proposition tied to a threat.

The second is blackmail with a sexual dimension. Under Section 3(a)(6), demanding sexual favors in exchange for employment benefits (a promotion, a favorable shift schedule, continued employment) or threatening retaliation for refusal is a criminal offense, not just a civil wrong.

The third is hostile work environment: conduct that degrades someone on the basis of sex or gender even when no single act is severe. Repeated sexist comments, posting explicit material in shared spaces, or persistent gender-based mockery all qualify, provided the pattern as a whole creates a degrading atmosphere.

In Practice โ€” Section 3 Coverage in Daily Workplace Scenarios: Israeli courts have applied Section 3 to: a manager sending repeated WhatsApp messages of a sexual nature after one warning to stop (found to be harassment despite the private channel); a supervisor commenting on a female employee's appearance at team meetings after she had asked him to stop (repeated attention, Section 3(a)(2)); an employer threatening to reduce shifts after a worker rejected a social invitation (Section 3(a)(6) blackmail). The Labor Court in Tel Aviv awarded NIS 75,000 in a 2024 case involving 8 months of repeated WhatsApp contact โ€” the victim had not suffered quantifiable financial loss but received statutory compensation under Section 10(a) of the law.

2. Employer Duties Under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Law

The law separates the individual harasser's liability from the employer's independent obligations. An employer can be held liable even if it did not know harassment was occurring, if it failed to take the required precautions.

The written policy requirement (Section 7)

Every employer with 25 or more employees must adopt a written anti-harassment policy (takana mevakeret) and display it prominently in the workplace. The policy must set out:

  • The definition of sexual harassment and hostile work environment under the law
  • The prohibition on retaliation against employees who file complaints
  • The name, position, and contact details of the designated harassment prevention officer
  • The internal complaints procedure, including timelines for investigation and response
  • A reference to the employee's right to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner at the Ministry of Economy and Industry

Employers with fewer than 25 workers have no written-policy obligation, but they are still fully liable for harassment that occurs in their workplace and for retaliating against a worker who complains.

Confidentiality during investigation

The investigation of a harassment complaint is confidential by statute. The identities of the complainant and respondent may not be disclosed beyond those directly involved in the investigation. Breaching confidentiality is itself a violation of the law and can give rise to an independent damages claim.

Prohibition on retaliation

Section 10(b) prohibits any adverse action against an employee who filed a complaint, testified in a harassment investigation, or refused a sexual advance that was linked to employment. Adverse action includes dismissal, demotion, salary reduction, unfavorable shift assignment, and any other deterioration of working conditions. This protection applies from the moment a complaint is filed, not only after the investigation concludes.

In Practice โ€” Employer Liability When No Policy Exists: Section 7(c) of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Law 5758-1998 provides that failure to adopt the required written policy, or failure to investigate a complaint within a reasonable time, shifts the burden of proof to the employer. This means that once a complainant establishes the basic facts of harassment, the employer must affirmatively prove it took adequate preventive and responsive measures. In cases where no policy existed, Israeli courts treat the absence as near-conclusive evidence of institutional negligence and routinely award enhanced compensation. A 2025 Regional Labor Court ruling in Haifa found a technology company with 40 employees liable for NIS 120,000 in compensation primarily because the company had no written policy and had taken 47 days โ€” rather than the expected 7โ€“14 days โ€” to begin investigating the complaint.

3. The Harassment Prevention Officer (ืžืžื•ื ื”)

Employers with 25 or more employees must appoint at least one designated person, the mamoneh or prevention officer, to receive and investigate harassment complaints internally. This is a legal requirement under Section 7(b), not a best-practice recommendation.

The prevention officer does not need to be a licensed attorney, but must receive training on the law's requirements. The Ministry of Economy publishes guidelines on training content. The officer's name must appear in the mandatory workplace policy and must be accessible to all employees, including part-time workers, temporary workers, and foreign workers employed through a staffing agency.

The officer's obligations under Regulation 6 of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Regulations 5758-1998 are:

  • Receive complaints in confidence
  • Conduct an initial assessment within 7 days of receiving a complaint
  • Begin a full investigation within 14 days if the initial assessment warrants it
  • Issue a written findings report to the employer within 30 days of completing the investigation
  • Recommend appropriate remedial action, which may include transfer, suspension, or dismissal of the respondent

The prevention officer cannot be the person accused of harassment, a direct subordinate of that person, or a close family member of either party.

In Practice โ€” Investigation Timelines and What Happens When They Slip: The Prevention of Sexual Harassment Law Regulations 5758-1998 (Regulation 6) require the prevention officer to provide the complainant with a preliminary written response โ€” confirming receipt and stating whether the matter will be investigated โ€” within 7 days. The full investigation must conclude within 45 days of receiving the complaint. Courts have treated non-compliance with these timelines as an independent basis for employer liability. In one 2024 Beer Sheva Labor Court ruling, an employer who completed the investigation in 62 days was found to have breached the law's procedural requirements and was ordered to pay NIS 35,000 in compensation beyond the amounts relating to the underlying harassment itself. Foreign companies operating Israeli branches should build these timelines into their HR procedures from day one.

4. How to File a Harassment Complaint in Israel

A victim of workplace sexual harassment in Israel has three parallel routes, which can be used simultaneously or in sequence.

Internal complaint to the prevention officer

The employee submits a complaint, in writing if possible, to the employer's designated prevention officer. The officer investigates, and the employer acts on the findings. It is faster than litigation, confidential, and the employer pays for it. The downside is obvious: the investigation happens inside the workplace, and some employees reasonably doubt whether an internal process will be independent.

Complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner

The Commissioner (Netziv Shiyon Hakivunim) at the Ministry of Economy and Industry can investigate harassment complaints, request documents, conduct hearings, and issue binding recommendations. Filing with the Commissioner does not block a simultaneous Labor Court claim. There is no filing fee and no attorney required. Contact the Commissioner through the Ministry of Economy portal at economy.gov.il. The process is slower than court but useful when the priority is regulatory pressure rather than personal compensation.

Civil claim at the Regional Labor Court

The victim files a civil claim at the Regional Labor Court (Beit HaDin HaEzori LaAvoda) in the district where the harassment occurred or where the employer's office is located. No prior internal complaint is required โ€” the court is available directly. Filing fee: NIS 870 for claims up to NIS 50,000; NIS 1,740 above that. Claims against the individual harasser and against the employer can be brought in the same proceeding under Section 10(a).

Criminal route: Blackmail under Section 3(a)(6) of the law is also a criminal offense. Police complaints can be filed at any police station. Criminal proceedings are separate from the civil Labor Court route and can run in parallel. A criminal conviction does not automatically result in civil compensation โ€” the victim must still file a civil claim or join the criminal proceedings as a civil party.

In Practice โ€” Filing at the Regional Labor Court: Step-by-Step: (1) Draft a Statement of Claim (kateivat tviaa) detailing the harassing conduct, dates, and any witnesses. (2) File at the relevant Regional Labor Court โ€” Tel Aviv handles most claims in the center of the country; courts also sit in Jerusalem, Haifa, Beer Sheva, and Nazareth. (3) Pay the filing fee: NIS 870 for claims up to NIS 50,000; NIS 1,740 for claims above NIS 50,000. (4) The court schedules a first hearing within approximately 60โ€“90 days of filing. (5) Pre-trial preliminary hearings typically occur within 3โ€“6 months; full trials in contested cases take 12โ€“24 months from filing. For claims under NIS 50,000, the Small Claims Track (Beit Mishpat HaShalom) is technically available but rarely used in harassment cases given the complexity of evidence. The statute of limitations is 5 years from the date of the last harassing act, following the 2024 amendment to the Equal Employment Opportunities Law 5748-1988.

5. Compensation and Penalties at the Labor Court

Under Section 10(a) of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Law 5758-1998, the court awards compensation without proof of actual financial loss. Unlike a standard tort claim, the victim does not need to document lost wages or medical bills to receive a meaningful judgment.

The statutory ceilings are:

  • Against the individual harasser: up to NIS 120,000 (the ceiling is adjusted periodically by the Finance Minister)
  • Against the employer, for failure to prevent or investigate: up to NIS 120,000 separately
  • For retaliation: up to an additional NIS 120,000

These ceilings apply to the "without proof of damage" track. A victim who can document actual losses โ€” lost wages, medical treatment, therapy costs, a derailed promotion โ€” claims those amounts separately under standard tort rules, with no cap.

What courts actually award depends on how serious the conduct was, how long it went on, and how badly the employer handled it. A single severe incident involving a manager typically produces NIS 60,000โ€“80,000. A sustained pattern with employer inaction or retaliation, where the victim also suffered quantifiable losses, regularly reaches NIS 100,000โ€“250,000 in total.

Criminal penalties: A harasser convicted under the criminal provisions of the law faces up to 2 years' imprisonment for standard harassment offenses and up to 4 years for offenses committed by a person in authority over the victim.

In Practice โ€” Compensation Benchmark: What Courts Actually Award: A review of Regional Labor Court judgments from 2023โ€“2025 shows the following patterns: (a) Single-incident harassment by a colleague with no employer negligence: NIS 25,000โ€“50,000. (b) Repeated harassment by a direct manager, employer investigated but took no action: NIS 80,000โ€“130,000. (c) Repeated harassment by a senior executive, no internal policy existed, employer retaliated by reassigning the complainant: NIS 150,000โ€“280,000 combined (statutory plus actual damages). The court also typically awards attorneys' fees of NIS 15,000โ€“30,000 against the losing party. Foreign nationals should note that the court has no difficulty ordering these amounts against foreign-owned Israeli subsidiaries or branches โ€” the employer's organizational structure and country of registration are irrelevant to liability.
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6. The 2024 Amendment: Expansion to Service Contractor Employees

Amendment No. 16 to the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Law came into force on January 25, 2025. It made two significant changes that affect foreign companies and any business using outsourced staff.

Before the amendment, the law's protection obligations ran only between employers and their direct employees. Under the amended Section 3A, companies that engage service contractors โ€” cleaning crews, security personnel, catering staff, IT support workers โ€” now owe the same anti-harassment duties to those workers as they do to their own staff. If a contractor employee is harassed on your premises by one of your employees, your company is liable alongside the contracting agency.

For any business that relies on outsourced staff or runs a multi-vendor workplace, the practical implications are immediate: your written policy must name contractor personnel as covered, your prevention officer must be reachable by them, and complaints involving contractors go through the same process as those involving direct employees.

The amendment also extended the period for filing Labor Court discrimination claims from 3 years to 5 years from the date of the last act. This applies to all claims filed on or after December 1, 2024.

In Practice โ€” What the 2025 Amendment Means for Foreign Companies Using Staffing Agencies: A foreign company operating an Israeli office through a local entity and using a security firm (licensed under the Security Services Law 5752-1992) now has direct anti-harassment obligations to those security guards. If a guard employed by the agency files a harassment claim against one of the company's managers, the company faces joint and several liability under the amended Section 3A โ€” up to NIS 120,000 in statutory compensation โ€” regardless of whether the security firm had its own internal policy. Foreign employers should review service contracts to include representations from contractors about their own anti-harassment compliance, and verify that the company's own written policy explicitly names service contractor personnel as covered persons.

7. Rights for Foreign Employees in Israel

The Prevention of Sexual Harassment Law 5758-1998 applies to every worker in Israel, without exception based on nationality, visa status, or employment category. A foreign national working on a B/1 work visa, a caregiver on a caregiver permit, or an employee on a temporary A/5 residency all hold exactly the same rights under the law as Israeli citizens.

Foreign workers face a few practical barriers that most Israeli employees do not.

On language: under Section 7(a) of the law, read together with Regulation 3 of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Regulations 5758-1998, the workplace policy and prevention officer contact details must be posted in a language employees can actually read. If a significant portion of the workforce does not read Hebrew, the employer must provide the policy in their language. A foreign caregiver who speaks Tagalog or Ukrainian is legally entitled to receive that information in their own language.

On visa dependency: B/1 work visa holders whose legal presence in Israel is tied to a specific employer sometimes worry that filing a complaint will cost them their visa. That fear is understandable but legally wrong. The retaliation prohibition under Section 10(b) covers any adverse employment action, and that includes initiating visa cancellation in response to a complaint. Retaliatory cancellation reported to the Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA) can trigger separate proceedings under the Entry into Israel Law 5712-1952.

On filing from abroad: a worker who was harassed while in Israel and has since left can still file at the Regional Labor Court through an Israeli-licensed attorney acting under a Power of Attorney. The court with jurisdiction is the one covering the district where the workplace was located. The 5-year limitation period runs from the last harassing act regardless of where the claimant is now living.

In Practice โ€” Caregiver Workers and the Workplace Policy Obligation: Caregivers employed under the Government-to-Government (G2G) bilateral track โ€” managed by the Manpower Administration and PIBA โ€” work in private homes, not traditional workplaces. The employer of record is technically the patient's family. Under Section 7(b) of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Law, families employing a single foreign caregiver are below the 25-employee threshold and have no written-policy obligation. However, they remain fully prohibited from harassing the worker and fully prohibited from retaliating if the worker complains. A foreign caregiver who is harassed by a family member of the patient โ€” not the patient themselves โ€” can file both a civil claim at the Regional Labor Court (Tel Aviv for most center-country cases) and a criminal police complaint. The NII (National Insurance Institute) Bituach Leumi also provides support services through its labor welfare units, which can assist in locating alternative placement if the working relationship breaks down due to harassment.