Short answer: An Israeli business that serves the public through a website or app has to make it accessible at level AA of Israeli Standard 5568 and publish an accessibility statement. The duty comes from the 2013 service-accessibility regulations issued under the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law, 1998. Very small businesses are exempt. This summarizes the official texts and is not legal advice.
Key takeaways
- The required level: Regulation 35A sets level AA of IS 5568, whose September 2023 edition is based on WCAG 2.0.
- Turnover exemptions: An exempt dealer (osek patur) or a business with average annual turnover of up to ₪100,000 is exempt from the website rules.
- The statement: Regulation 35E requires a prominent accessibility statement.
- The exposure: Section 19NA of the law lets a court award compensation of up to ₪50,000 without proof of damage for breaching these rules.
What the Israeli website accessibility rules cover
The internet-services section of the regulations (Regulations 35 to 35F) covers websites, documents and apps that provide a public service or information about one. Apps must meet the standard's relevant criteria on at least two common operating systems, unless the same service runs on an accessible mobile website the app links to. That belongs in the scope, next to the items in what an app costs to build in Israel.
Content uploaded by third parties is their responsibility, but the owner must provide accessible infrastructure, such as an image-description field, so how the CMS models content matters.
Who has to comply, by turnover
| Business | What applies |
|---|---|
| Exempt dealer, or average turnover up to ₪100,000 | Exempt from the website chapter |
| Average turnover up to ₪1,000,000, site or app already operating before these rules took effect | Exempt if contact details are published accessibly; three years, renewable |
| Everyone else | IS 5568 at level AA plus an accessibility statement |
| Public bodies, or average turnover above ₪5 million | Also captions on pre-recorded video they produce |
Under Regulation 35A(d), a deviation is not treated as a breach unless the business received a notice and did not fix it within a reasonable time, and no later than 60 days.
Why an overlay widget does not make a site compliant
Accessibility toolbars add font-size and contrast buttons on top of the page. They do not add missing form labels, repair keyboard traps or fix broken heading structure, and the regulations measure the site against IS 5568 itself. In April 2025 the US FTC finalized an order requiring accessiBe to pay $1 million over claims that its accessWidget tool could make any website WCAG-compliant.
