Quick Answer: The Equal Employment Opportunities Law 5748-1988 (Chok Shivyon Hizdamuyot Avoda) protects every person employed in Israel regardless of nationality, visa status, or religion. If an employer discriminates in hiring, pay, promotion, or dismissal based on any of the 15 protected categories in Section 2, the worker can sue in the Regional Labor Court and claim statutory damages of up to NIS 124,650 without proving a specific financial loss. A separate law, the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Law 5758-1998, imposes additional obligations on employers with 25 or more staff.

Working in a foreign country puts you at a disadvantage you don't always see until something goes wrong. A foreign national passed over for a promotion given to a less-qualified Israeli colleague. A woman asked in a job interview whether she plans to have children. An employee from an Arab country paid less than his Jewish peers for the same job. All of these are illegal under Israeli law, and all of them end up in the Regional Labor Courts regularly enough that discrimination claims number in the hundreds every year.

What most foreign workers miss is that Israeli anti-discrimination law is genuinely protective and has real teeth. You don't have to prove the discrimination was intentional. You don't have to be an Israeli citizen. You don't even have to show a specific monetary loss before the court can award compensation. If you work in Israel, these protections cover you.

Three statutes do most of the work here, each covering a different part of the problem.

The Equal Employment Opportunities Law 5748-1988

This is the primary statute. It applies to all employers and all workers in Israel and bans differential treatment based on 15 protected characteristics at every stage of the employment relationship: job advertisements, interviews, hiring, working conditions, promotion, training, dismissal, and severance pay. The law has been amended several times since 1988, most recently to add fertility treatments and reserve service as protected categories.

The Prevention of Sexual Harassment Law 5758-1998

This is a standalone law dealing specifically with sexual harassment at work. It defines what conduct is prohibited, makes employers liable for harassment by managers and co-workers, requires employers with 25 or more staff to adopt a formal policy and appoint a harassment commissioner, and provides compensation of up to NIS 124,650 per incident without proof of damages. Notably, it also covers customers and contractors.

The Equal Pay for Female and Male Employees Law 5756-1996

This law requires equal pay for equal or substantially equal work. Workers can request a salary comparison with a colleague of the opposite sex and sue for the gap plus compensation. It is enforced through the same Regional Labor Courts as the EEOL.

In Practice — Key Statutes at a Glance
  • Equal Employment Opportunities Law 5748-1988 — general anti-discrimination framework, 15 protected categories, covers all employment stages
  • Prevention of Sexual Harassment Law 5758-1998 — workplace harassment, employer obligations, up to NIS 124,650 statutory compensation
  • Equal Pay for Female and Male Employees Law 5756-1996 — mandatory pay equality, right to pay comparison, Regional Labor Court enforcement
  • Enforcing authority: Regional Labor Courts in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Beer Sheva, and Nazareth; appeals to the National Labor Court (Beit HaDin HaArzi LAvoda) in Jerusalem

2. Who Is Protected Under Israeli Anti-Discrimination Law

The Equal Employment Opportunities Law applies to every person who is employed in Israel — including workers on B/1 work visas, A/5 temporary residents, Olim who have just arrived, posted employees of foreign companies, domestic workers, and part-time employees. The law does not distinguish by immigration status, length of service, or type of contract.

Section 2 lists the 15 protected categories. Discrimination based on any of the following is unlawful at every stage of the employment relationship:

  • Sex (including gender identity)
  • Sexual orientation
  • Personal status — single, married, divorced, widowed, or in a known-in-public cohabitation relationship
  • Pregnancy and fertility treatments (IVF and related procedures)
  • Parenthood — being a parent or guardian of a child
  • Age
  • Race
  • Religion
  • Nationality
  • Country of origin
  • Views or political party affiliation
  • Military reserve service obligations (sherut miluim)
  • Place of residence — this was added to prevent discrimination against residents of peripheral towns

That "country of origin" and "nationality" are separate protected categories matters for foreign nationals. An employer who treats a French employee differently from an Israeli employee doing the same job has violated two provisions simultaneously. Similarly, paying an Ethiopian-Israeli less than a Mizrahi Israeli colleague for the same work falls under both "race" and "country of origin."

In Practice — Does the Law Cover Job Applicants Too?

Yes. Section 3 of the EEOL prohibits employers from placing job advertisements that expressly or implicitly indicate a preference or exclusion based on any protected category. An advertisement that says "Shabbat-observant preferred" or "fluent Hebrew a must" may be legitimate, but an advertisement that says "Israeli candidates only" or that includes demographic filters on a job portal violates the law even before a specific person is rejected. An applicant who can show they were not hired because of a protected characteristic — including nationality — can sue the employer even if they never actually worked there.

3. What Counts as Discrimination at Work in Israel

The law prohibits discrimination in any decision or condition of employment. The concept covers more ground than most foreign workers expect.

Direct Discrimination

A decision explicitly based on a protected characteristic. An employer who fires a woman because she told him she is pregnant has discriminated directly. A manager who refuses to consider a candidate from a particular country of origin, or who gives a lower salary to an employee because of their religion, is engaging in direct discrimination.

Indirect Discrimination

A policy or practice that appears neutral but has a disproportionate adverse effect on a protected group. Requiring all employees to work Friday afternoons in a job that could be done flexibly may indirectly discriminate against observant Jewish employees. Requiring all job applicants to hold an Israeli driving licence for a desk job without business justification may indirectly discriminate against recent immigrants who have not yet converted their licence.

The Reversed Burden of Proof

Section 9 of the EEOL is the provision that makes this law actually usable. When a claimant presents facts that raise a reasonable basis for assuming discrimination occurred, the burden shifts to the employer to prove their decision was based on relevant, lawful grounds. You don't need to prove intent or produce a document where the manager admits to being motivated by your nationality. Show facts that make discrimination the more plausible explanation, and the employer has to justify themselves — not you.

Constructive Discrimination and Hostile Work Environment

Israeli courts recognize that discrimination can also take the form of creating conditions so hostile or degrading that the employee effectively has no choice but to resign. An employee who resigns under such circumstances can claim constructive dismissal under regular labor law and also discrimination damages under the EEOL.

In Practice — Collecting Evidence Before You Resign or Are Dismissed

The most common mistake workers make is leaving without gathering evidence. Before any dismissal or resignation takes effect:

  • Save emails, WhatsApp messages, or any written communication in which a supervisor references your religion, nationality, pregnancy, or other protected characteristic
  • Request a copy of your employment contract, recent payslips, and your last performance review in writing from HR
  • If colleagues are willing, note (but do not pressure) whether they would confirm unequal treatment in writing or as witnesses
  • Keep a dated log of discriminatory incidents — courts give more weight to contemporaneous notes than to memory reconstructed years later

4. Sexual Harassment at Work: What the 1998 Law Requires

The Prevention of Sexual Harassment Law 5758-1998 (Chok LiMniyat Tipul Pegi'a) sits alongside the EEOL as a standalone statute with its own definitions, employer obligations, and remedies. It goes further than most foreign workers expect.

What the Law Defines as Prohibited Conduct

Section 3 lists prohibited acts, which fall into two categories. Some acts are prohibited regardless of consent or objection: sexual extortion (conditioning an employment benefit on sexual cooperation), humiliating references to a person's sexual orientation, and indecent acts. Other acts are prohibited only when the targeted person has made clear they find them unwanted: sexual proposals or references, repeated remarks about a person's body, and repeated references to sexual orientation.

The Employer's Obligations

An employer with 25 or more employees bears significant affirmative obligations under the law and its 1998 Regulations:

  • Appoint a harassment commissioner (memuneh/memuneit tipul bepgiya) who receives complaints, conducts investigations, and recommends disciplinary action
  • Publish a written workplace policy explaining what constitutes harassment, how to complain, and the consequences for offenders — this must be distributed to every employee, posted visibly in the workplace, and given to new hires at onboarding
  • Investigate any formal complaint within 7 business days under the Regulations, or as quickly as circumstances require when the harasser and victim work closely together
  • Take protective measures for the victim while the investigation is pending — such as changing work assignments or shifts — without this constituting a demotion of the victim

Employer Liability for Harassment by Others

An employer is directly liable for harassment carried out by a manager or supervisor, even without the employer's knowledge. For harassment by a co-worker or a contractor or customer, the employer is liable if they knew or should have known and failed to take reasonable steps to stop it. This creates real financial exposure even for employers who did not personally participate in the conduct.

In Practice — Small Companies (Fewer Than 25 Employees)

The obligation to appoint a harassment commissioner applies to employers with 25 or more workers. But the prohibition on harassment itself applies to all employers regardless of size. A three-person startup whose founder harasses an employee violates the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Law even without a commissioner requirement. Smaller employers simply don't have the compliance infrastructure required of larger ones — they remain fully liable for the conduct itself. Foreign employees at small tech startups or family businesses should be aware of this distinction.

5. Filing a Workplace Discrimination Complaint: Your Options

You have two routes, and in most cases it makes sense to pursue both at once: an internal workplace complaint and a civil claim at the Regional Labor Court.

Internal complaint to the harassment commissioner or HR

For sexual harassment specifically, filing internally first is encouraged but not required. The employer's harassment commissioner must investigate within 7 business days and issue a written decision. If the investigation confirms the harassment, the employer must discipline the harasser and take protective steps for the complainant. Save copies of everything you submit and everything you receive.

Complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission

The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (Netzivut Shivyon Hizdamuyot Avoda) sits under the Ministry of Labor. It can investigate employers, issue orders to stop discriminatory practices, and impose administrative fines — but it cannot award you personal compensation. It costs nothing to file and no attorney is required. An administrative finding in your favour can strengthen a parallel court claim, so it is worth doing even if the court claim is your primary route.

Civil claim at the Regional Labor Court

This is where you get paid. Israel has five Regional Labor Courts — Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Beer Sheva, and Nazareth — each with exclusive jurisdiction over employment disputes in its district. File in the court covering where you worked, not where you currently live. You can file after leaving Israel, provided an Israeli attorney holds a valid power of attorney.

Filing fees are lower than in civil courts and scale with the amount claimed. A Tel Aviv-based dismissal claim typically gets a first procedural hearing within 45 days of filing, though contested cases regularly take 1–2 years to reach a final judgment.

In Practice — Can You File from Abroad?

Yes. A foreign national who has left Israel can still file a discrimination claim in the relevant Regional Labor Court, provided they appoint an Israeli attorney who holds a valid power of attorney. The attorney files and appears on the claimant's behalf. The claimant may need to give a video-link deposition if the case goes to trial, though courts have accepted written declarations in some circumstances. The limitation period continues to run while you are abroad, so don't delay consulting an Israeli labor attorney if you believe you have a claim.

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6. Remedies: What the Labor Court Can Award

Israeli law gives successful claimants a broader toolkit than most foreign workers expect. The headline feature is statutory damages: compensation the court can award without you having to prove a specific monetary loss.

Statutory damages without proof of loss

Section 10 of the Equal Employment Opportunities Law lets the Labor Court award compensation even where the claimant cannot put a number on their actual loss. The cap stood at NIS 124,650 per discriminatory act as of 2026 (periodically adjusted under the law). The Prevention of Sexual Harassment Law has an identical ceiling. In practice, courts award anywhere from NIS 20,000 to the full NIS 124,650 depending on how serious the conduct was, how long it continued, and whether the employer did anything about it.

Compensatory damages

On top of statutory damages, a claimant can recover actual losses: unpaid salary, lost promotion, medical or psychological treatment costs flowing from the discrimination. If dismissal was involved, add full severance under the Severance Pay Law 5723-1963. None of these amounts are capped.

Reinstatement

The Labor Court can order reinstatement after a discriminatory dismissal. Courts use this sparingly — most claimants want money, not their old job back, and going back to a workplace where the discrimination happened rarely works out. For senior roles at large organisations, though, reinstatement stays on the table.

Injunctions

The Labor Court can issue interim injunctions preventing a dismissal from taking effect while proceedings are pending. This is particularly relevant for pregnancy-related dismissals, where Section 9A of the Women's Employment Law 5714-1954 independently prohibits dismissing a pregnant employee during pregnancy and the 60 days following maternity leave without Ministry of Labor approval.

In Practice — Typical Award Ranges (2025-2026 Labor Court Data)
  • Single discriminatory act (e.g., discriminatory interview question followed by rejection): NIS 20,000–50,000 in statutory damages
  • Discriminatory dismissal with documented pattern: NIS 60,000–124,650 in statutory damages, plus severance and notice pay
  • Sexual harassment — single incident by manager: NIS 30,000–80,000 plus counseling costs
  • Ongoing harassment over months: NIS 80,000–124,650 per defendant (harasser and employer may each be ordered to pay)
  • Note: These are civil court awards only. The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission can additionally impose administrative fines on employers who fail to comply with the law's procedural requirements.

7. Specific Issues for Foreign Nationals and Expats

A few aspects of Israeli anti-discrimination law hit differently when you are not an Israeli citizen.

Nationality as a protected category

"Nationality" appears explicitly in Section 2 of the EEOL, which means a French, American, or British employee treated worse than an Israeli colleague doing the same job has a direct statutory basis for a claim, not just a general unfairness argument. This has been litigated in the Labor Court in cases involving posted workers at multinationals and in the tech sector, where salary gaps between Israeli and foreign hires have been successfully challenged.

Language and understanding your contract

No law requires employment contracts to be in a language the employee understands, but courts have held that an employer who hands a Hebrew contract to someone who clearly cannot read Hebrew, with no meaningful explanation, may struggle to enforce unfavourable terms later. It is not a standalone discrimination protection, but it becomes relevant where the employer is using the language barrier to impose inferior conditions specifically on foreign workers.

The work permit complication

Foreign workers on B/1 employer-sponsored permits face a problem nobody else has: a discriminatory dismissal kills both the job and the visa. If that happens to you, file for a Labor Court injunction to stay the dismissal within 7 days of receiving your notice, and call an immigration attorney at the same time. Israeli courts grant interim relief much more readily before a dismissal takes formal effect than after.

Arab and Palestinian Workers

Arab citizens of Israel working in the Israeli economy are fully protected by the EEOL and have successfully brought claims against employers based on nationality, religion, and country of origin. Palestinian workers from the West Bank who hold permits to work within Israel's 1967 borders are also covered by Israeli labor law for the duration of their permitted employment, including its anti-discrimination provisions.

In Practice — Fired While Pregnant in Israel

Pregnancy dismissal deserves special mention because it is both the most commonly litigated discrimination scenario in Israel and one where the protections are strongest. Under Section 9A of the Women's Employment Law 5714-1954, an employer may not dismiss a pregnant employee during her pregnancy or in the 60 days following the end of maternity leave without the approval of the Ministry of Labor. Any dismissal without that approval is void — not merely unlawful, but legally as if it never happened. The employer must reinstate the employee and pay full back-salary for the entire period. Foreign national employees on B/1 visas who become pregnant are entitled to the same protection as Israeli employees.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. The Equal Employment Opportunities Law 5748-1988 applies to all workers employed in Israel regardless of their nationality or visa status. A foreign national who is discriminated against based on any of the protected categories listed in Section 2 can file a claim in the Regional Labor Court and recover compensation — including statutory damages of up to NIS 124,650 without needing to prove a specific monetary loss.

Section 2 of the Equal Employment Opportunities Law 5748-1988 lists: sex, sexual orientation, personal status (single, married, divorced, widowed), pregnancy and IVF treatments, parenthood, age, race, religion, nationality, country of origin, political views or party affiliation, military reserve service obligations, and place of residence. Discrimination based on any of these characteristics in hiring, pay, promotion, training, or dismissal is unlawful.

Generally no. Section 3 of the Equal Employment Opportunities Law prohibits employers from publishing job advertisements or asking interview questions that express, explicitly or implicitly, a preference or disqualification based on any of the protected categories. Asking a candidate their religion, whether they observe the Sabbath, or whether they are pregnant during a job interview gives rise to a presumption of discrimination under Section 9 of the law, shifting the burden to the employer to show the question was unrelated to the hiring decision.

Yes, for employers with 25 or more employees. Under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Law 5758-1998 and its regulations, any employer with 25 or more workers must appoint a harassment commissioner (memuneh/memuneit tipul bepgiya) responsible for receiving complaints, investigating them within 7 business days under the regulations, and recommending disciplinary action. The employer must also distribute a written workplace harassment policy to every employee. Failure to do so exposes the employer to significant damages in addition to any direct harassment claims.

The general limitation period under Israeli law for labor claims is 7 years, but case law consistently holds that discrimination and harassment claims should be brought promptly. As a practical rule, file within 24 months of the discriminatory act or dismissal. For sexual harassment claims under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Law, courts tend to be more forgiving about delay in cases where the victim feared retaliation, but waiting more than 3 years carries real risk of reduced damages.

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