Can a foreign director of an Israeli company be personally liable at the Execution Office for a promissory note signed by the company?

Yes, if the director co-signed the note as a personal guarantor (arev) or issued a separate personal promissory note alongside the corporate instrument. Under Section 1 of the Execution Law 5727-1967, the Execution Office can open simultaneous files against both the company and any personal co-signatories. Enforcement against the individual director can begin within 30 to 45 days of the debtor's objection deadline passing — bank account seizure or wage garnishment against the director runs in parallel with property attachment against the company's assets. Israeli creditors routinely require personal co-signatures from company directors, especially in recently formed companies with no credit history or Israeli real estate for collateral.

A foreign director who co-signed as guarantor and lives outside Israel is still reachable through enforcement on any Israeli assets they hold. Beyond asset enforcement, the Magistrates Court (Beit Mishpat HaShalom) can issue a travel ban (tzav ikuv yetzia) preventing a co-signing director from entering Israel, on a formal request made through the Execution Office proceedings. For foreign nationals who travel to Israel regularly on business, this is a practical and immediate consequence. Read every promissory note carefully before signing — the difference between an authorised company signature and a personal co-signature is not always obvious in a document presented quickly at a closing. For more detail, see Promissory Notes in Israel: Legal Rights for Creditors and Debtors.