Does a business in Israel have to make its website and premises accessible to people with disabilities?
The statute works through a chain: the primary law imposes the duty, the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Regulations on service accessibility set the technical content, and the Commission for Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities inside the Ministry of Justice supervises and enforces. For premises this means physical access, accessible sanitary facilities and accessible service positions. For digital services it means a site built to the Israeli standard, an accessibility statement published on the site naming a responsible contact, and staff who know how the accommodations work. The compensation provisions allow an award without proof of damage, which is what makes the exposure real for a business that has never had a complaint.
Foreign companies frequently assume the rules stop at the border. They do not stop cleanly: Israeli courts have applied consumer legislation to traders who direct their business at the Israeli market through Hebrew pages, shekel pricing or delivery into Israel, and accessibility claims have followed the same logic. A company with an Israeli subsidiary, an Israeli office or a Hebrew storefront should treat the standard as applicable and get an accessibility audit rather than argue jurisdiction after a claim lands. Very small businesses are exempted from parts of the website obligation by turnover, but the exemption is narrow and does not release a business from the service duties. See our guide on Israeli consumer law for foreign businesses.
- Governing law: Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law 5758-1998 and the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities (Service Accessibility) Regulations 5773-2013
- Technical standard: Israeli Standard SI 5568, which adopts WCAG 2.0 level AA for internet services
- Competent authority: Commission for Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Netzivut Shivyon Zchuyot LeAnashim im Mugbalut), Ministry of Justice
- Exposure: statutory compensation without proof of damage of up to approximately NIS 50,000 per claimant, and accessibility is a listed ground under the Class Actions Law 5766-2006
- Documentation: a published accessibility statement naming a responsible person is expected on every covered site
- Small business: a turnover-based exemption releases very small businesses from parts of the website obligation but not from the service duties
From the full guide: Israeli Consumer Protection Law for Foreign Businesses
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