1) Israel is a Party to the 1980 Hague Convention.

The 1980 Hague Convention: a multilateral treaty which provides procedural guidelines on the return of children and their protection in cases of international parental child abduction.

Contact the Central Authority established in Israel for cases of child abduction (operational languages: Hebrew and English).

2) Israel is not a Party to the 1996 Hague Convention.

The 1996 Hague Convention: a multilateral treaty which covers civil measures of protection concerning children, parental responsibility and contact, children's property, public measures of protection or care and matters of representation.

You can determine whether countries relevant to your case are Parties, or not, to the 1980 Hague Convention on International Child Abduction and/or the 1996 Hague Convention on Child Protection in order to locate the appropriate central authority. As for the 1980 Hague Convention, you can check whether the Convention is in force between two specific States in the Spreadsheet showing acceptances of accessions to the Child Abduction Convention.

The Department of International Relations at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services works in cooperation with International Social Service (ISS) (website is in Hebrew and also available in Arabic). Its special attention is directed towards family issues: children, parental divorce and/or conflict, parenting, custody, guardianship, searching for origins, etc. You can contact them via telephone: +972-2-5085435, fax: +972-2-5085110 or e-mail: divrah(at)molsa.gov.il and reneet(at)molsa.gov.il.

The Legal Aid Department in the Ministry of Justice provides legal aid in civil matters, including legal advice and principally, representation before legal forums by lawyers appointed by the Department.  Legal aid is provided free of charge, except the payment of a specified amount, according to income for an applicant. If your application satisfies the conditions mentioned on this page, you can contact the Department directly here or choose your district in the column on the left.

The Department of Social Services of the Jerusalem Municipality provides counselling, information, mediation, referral to services and voluntary organisations, material assistance relative to the family's income level in order to deliver social services at the local level in Jerusalem.

The Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality has developed a variety of services and assistance programs for parents and children. Such programs, in partnership with the city’s health and education services, are available to children and families. You can contact them here.

The Social Services Department in Ramla provides a variety of social services for all demographic sectors: the elderly, families, children and adolescents. It also provides help to individuals suffering from domestic violence and for cases of physical and developmental disabilities, counselling, couple and family therapy, etc.

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) is an independent human rights organization dealing with a wide spectrum of rights and civil liberties issues such as: freedom of expression, freedom of religion, women’s rights, criminal justice, equality for Arab citizens, the gay and lesbian community rights, migrant workers’ rights and other. ACRI addresses violations committed by Israeli authorities in Israel and the Occupied Territories. You can contact their four offices located in Tel Aviv (head office), Jerusalem, Nazareth and Be’er Sheva directly here.

New Family serves all families in Israel subject to legal inequalities, including people who cannot marry their partner—LGBTQ, interfaith and bi-national families, single parents, non-Orthodox Jews, migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and their children. To apply for legal aid, you can contact them directly here.

The Israel National Council for the Child (NCC) is an independent non-governmental organisation advocating for all children's rights and well-being. The NCC provides support and services to children in distress. The organisation website is under construction, please see its Facebook page.

ELEM is a non-profit organisation providing assistance for youth at risk and in distress. They work in 40 towns across the country and offer information and counselling in their centers for youth, multicultural programs, a program for the prevention and treatment of sexual violence among children, a program for girls at risk, employment rehabilitation and mentoring for juvenile delinquents, day centers for the homeless, a project for minors involved in prostitution, a center for female victims of sexual violence, etc.

The Aid Organisation for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Israel (ASSAF) provides psychological support to refugees and asylum seekers, counselling on their rights as workers, courses and activities for refugee adolescents, humanitarian assistance, welfare services for victims of torture and human trafficking and family support to prepare for daily life in Israel. You can contact them directly here.

The Hotline for Refugees and Migrants is an organisation in Tel-Aviv that protects the rights of refugees, migrant workers and victims of human trafficking. The Hotline staff and volunteers have been visiting Israel’s immigration detention centres to monitor conditions, meet with detainees and provide paralegal intervention and legal representation. You can contact them directly here.

New Family serves all families in Israel subject to legal inequalities, including people who cannot marry their partner—LGBTQ, interfaith and bi-national families, single parents, non-Orthodox Jews, migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and their children. To apply for legal aid, you can contact them directly here.

Caritas Jerusalem is a humanitarian and developmental organisation that serves the needs of the Palestinian population in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. Caritas Jerusalem provides social and medical services for the poor and marginalised, emergency humanitarian aid in times of crisis, youth empowerment programmes, creation of economic opportunities through the soft loan, job creation and advocating for peace in Israel. You can contact them directly here.