Can a parent living abroad get an Israeli court order for regular video calls with their child in Israel?

Israeli law frames contact as the child's right, not the parent's privilege. Under Section 15 of the Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law 5722-1962, both parents are natural guardians with a duty to maintain a relationship with the child, and the Family Court has broad discretion under Section 25 to set the arrangements that serve the child's welfare. Courts routinely add scheduled video and phone contact to a parenting plan, treating it as a normal supplement to physical visits rather than an exceptional remedy. A welfare officer typically interviews the family and files a recommendation on frequency, timing, and whether calls should be monitored before the judge fixes the schedule. See our guide on visitation rights for a non-resident parent.

For a parent overseas, a written video-contact order is the practical anchor of the relationship between trips to Israel. Ask for specific detail in the order: exact days, local Israel times adjusted for your time zone, the platform, and a duty on the resident parent to have the child available and the device charged. You do not need to be in Israel to run the case, since an Israeli lawyer can act under a power of attorney and you can testify by video. If the resident parent ignores the schedule, you enforce it through the court, and persistent obstruction can support a later request to vary the parenting plan or even relocation-related decisions.

From the full guide: Child Visitation Rights in Israel for a Non-Resident Parent

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