Can a parent living abroad modify an Israeli child custody or support order without traveling to Israel?

Yes — in most cases. Israeli Family Courts have conducted remote hearings via video link as standard practice since 2020, and many preliminary modification hearings require no in-person appearance from a foreign party. The parent living abroad appoints an Israeli attorney through an apostilled power of attorney (yipui koach) to file the application, attend administrative hearings, and manage procedural steps locally. The court serves documents on the foreign parent through the Hague Service Convention, to which Israel is a signatory.

Physical attendance is most commonly required for in-person evidentiary hearings where the judge calls the parent to testify, and for any home assessment by the welfare officer — though the officer can also conduct a remote interview supplemented by a home assessment report from a counterpart authority in the other country. Cross-border support enforcement runs through the Child Support Enforcement (International) Law 5775-2015, covering over 45 countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Australia. Israel's Ministry of Justice serves as the Central Authority, transmitting orders to the equivalent body abroad; enforcement typically takes 3 to 12 months. Filing costs run approximately NIS 802 for claims up to NIS 50,000 in annual value. For more detail, see Modifying Child Custody and Support Orders in Israel: A Complete Guide.