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Associations Law, 5740-1980

חוק העמותות, תש"ם-1980

Published: 1980-08-12Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2026-03-12 · Last amended 2024-09-15✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-29
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Unofficial English translation — for reference only. It may contain errors or omissions and cannot be relied on as a legal text. Only the Hebrew text published in Reshumot is legally binding.More

This English text was translated from the official Hebrew using a range of translation tools, and it undergoes ongoing checks and updates. It is not a certified translation.

Despite these checks, it may contain errors, omissions, or imprecise renderings of legal terminology and cross-references, and it may not yet reflect the latest amendments. It cannot be relied upon as a legal text.

The Hebrew text as published in Reshumot (ספר החוקים) and on the Knesset website is the sole authoritative and legally binding version. In any discrepancy, the Hebrew text prevails.

This translation is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For use in legal proceedings, request a certified Expert Legal Opinion.

First Schedule (Section 10)

Section A: Membership

Admission of Members§

1.
(a)The founders of the association are members thereof from the date of registration of the association in the Register of Associations.
(b)A person who wishes to become a member of the association shall submit to the executive committee an application in the following terms:

"I (name, address and identity number) request to become a member of the association (name of the association). The purposes of the association and its articles are known to me. If I am admitted as a member thereof, I undertake to comply with the provisions of the articles and the decisions of the general meeting of the association."

(c)The decision regarding the admission of the applicant as a member of the association or the refusal of admission is vested in the executive committee; if the executive committee has refused to admit the applicant, the applicant may appeal against the refusal before the next general meeting.

Rights and Duties of a Member§

2.
(a)A member of the association is entitled to participate and vote at every general meeting and shall have one vote in every vote; the member is entitled to elect and be elected to the executive committee or to the audit committee.
(b)A member of the association is entitled to participate in the activities of the association and to enjoy its services.
(c)The executive committee, with the approval of the general meeting, may fix membership fees, the payment of which shall be obligatory upon members.
(d)The lapse of membership in the association does not exempt a person from settling payments that were due to the association from the member on the eve of the lapse of membership in respect of the period up to the lapse of membership.

Lapse of Membership§

3.
(a)Membership in the association lapses –
(1)upon the death of the member, and in the case of a member that is a corporation – upon the completion of its liquidation;
(2)upon the member's resignation from the association; written notice of resignation shall be given to the executive committee thirty days in advance;
(3)upon the member's expulsion from the association.
(b)The general meeting may, upon the proposal of the executive committee, resolve to expel a member from the association on one of the following grounds:
(1)the member has not paid to the association what is owed to it by the member;
(2)the member has not complied with the provisions of the articles or a decision of the general meeting;
(3)the member is acting contrary to the purposes of the association;
(4)the member has been convicted of an offence which, by reason of its nature, gravity or circumstances, renders the member unfit to serve as a member of an association.
(c)The executive committee shall not propose to the general meeting the expulsion of a member unless it has given the member an adequate opportunity to state the member's case before it, and shall not propose expulsion on the grounds referred to in sub-regulation (b)(1), (2) or (3) unless it has warned the member and given the member a reasonable time to remedy the wrong.

Giving Notices to a Member§

4.

An invitation, demand, warning and any other notice of the association to a member shall be given to the member in writing, delivered by hand or sent by ordinary post to the member's address as registered in the membership register; upon a written request by the member, the association shall change the member's registered address in the membership register.

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Section B: The General Meeting

Time and Place§

5.

The date, time and location of a general meeting shall be determined by the executive committee.

Invitation§

6.

A general meeting shall be convened by notice given to every member at least ten days in advance, specifying the day, time, place and agenda of the meeting.

Functions of an Ordinary General Meeting§

7.

An ordinary general meeting shall hear reports on the activities of the executive committee and the activities of the audit committee, shall deliberate thereon and on the financial report submitted to it by the executive committee, shall resolve on their approval, and shall elect the executive committee and the audit committee.

Quorum§

8.
(a)A general meeting shall not be opened unless at least one quarter of the number of members of the association are present; if this quorum is present at the opening of the meeting, the meeting may continue its deliberations and adopt decisions even if the number of those present has fallen below that number.
(b)If the said quorum has not assembled within one hour of the time stated in the invitation, the meeting shall be deemed adjourned, without the need for a further invitation, by one week to the same time and place, and at such adjourned meeting those present shall be entitled to deliberate and decide, whatever their number.

Chairperson and Secretary§

9.

A general meeting shall elect, from among the members of the association, a chairperson and a secretary for the meeting.

Decisions§

10.

Decisions of the general meeting shall be adopted by a majority of votes of those voting, unless this Law or these articles require a different majority for their adoption; if the votes are equal, the chairperson of the meeting may have a casting vote.

Minutes§

11.

The secretary of the general meeting shall keep the minutes of the meeting.

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Section C: The Executive Committee

Number of Members§

12.

The number of members of the executive committee shall be determined by a decision of the general meeting and shall not be fewer than two.

Term of Office§

13.
(a)The Executive Committee shall serve from the time of its election at a general meeting until another general meeting elects a new Executive Committee; a retiring member of the Executive Committee may be elected to the new Executive Committee.
(b)A member of the Executive Committee may resign from office at any time by written notice to the Executive Committee; a member of the Executive Committee shall cease to serve if declared legally incompetent or if an order has been made in respect of that member to open proceedings under the Insolvency and Economic Rehabilitation Law, 5778-2018.

Filling Vacancies on the Executive Committee§

14.
(a)Where a position on the Executive Committee falls vacant, the remaining member or members may appoint another member of the association to serve as a member of the Executive Committee until the next general meeting; pending such an appointment, the remaining member or members may continue to act as the Executive Committee.
(b)Where a member of the Executive Committee is prevented from performing his duties, the remaining member or members may appoint a member of the association to fill his place until he resumes the performance of his duties.

Meetings of the Executive Committee§

15.

The Executive Committee may itself regulate the timing of its meetings, the convening thereof, the quorum required thereat and the manner of conducting them.

Decisions§

16.

Decisions of the Executive Committee shall be adopted by a majority of the votes of those voting; where the votes are equal, the proposal shall not have been adopted; a unanimous decision of all members of the Executive Committee may be adopted otherwise than at a meeting of the Executive Committee.

Minutes§

17.

The Executive Committee shall maintain minutes of its meetings and decisions.

Right of Representation§

18.

The Executive Committee may authorise two or more of its members to sign, on behalf of the association, documents that shall bind it, and to carry out, on its behalf, acts that are within the scope of its authority.

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Section D: The Audit Committee

Application of Provisions§

19.

The provisions of Regulations 12 to 17 shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to the Audit Committee as well.

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Section E: Branches

Establishment and Organisation of Branches§

20.

The association may, by decision of the general meeting, establish branches and determine their organisation and the procedures for managing their affairs.

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Section F: Assets after Dissolution

Transfer of Surplus Assets§

21.

Where the association has been dissolved and, after its debts have been paid in full, assets remain, those assets shall be transferred to another association or to another public benefit company registered with the Registrar of Endowments as defined in the Companies Law, 5759-1999, having similar objects.

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Second Schedule (Section 35(a))

In this Schedule —

"turnover" — the total amount of receipts from every source and type received in the last year that has passed;

"year" — a period of 12 months from the month of January until the end of the month of December;

"receipts" — including donations, allocations, indirect taxes, designated amounts, whether in money or in money's worth, excluding consideration from the sale of fixed assets;

"relative" — a sibling, parent, grandparent, descendant, descendant of a spouse, or the spouse of any of the foregoing.

A. An association whose turnover exceeds NIS 750,000 is required to maintain a bookkeeping system in accordance with the double-entry accounting method in one of the accepted methods, including:

(1)a cash book;
(2)receipt vouchers; receipts in respect of the sale of assets or in respect of the provision of services shall be recorded in a separate receipt voucher book; receipts in respect of donations shall be recorded in a separate receipt voucher book; on every receipt in a donation receipt voucher book, the word "donation" shall be printed in a prominently visible manner; where an approval has been granted to the association under section 46 of the Income Tax Ordinance [New Version], the words "for an institution holding an income tax approval in respect of donations under section 46 of the Ordinance" shall also be printed on the receipt;
(3)an income account in which shall be recorded separately, income in respect of:
(a)allocations and participations from others, including governmental or municipal bodies;
(b)donations originating in the country and donations to be received from abroad, excluding donations from a foreign political entity as defined in section 36a (in this Schedule — donations from a foreign political entity);
(b1)donations from a foreign political entity;
(c)income from interest and linkage differentials;
(d)income from the rental of assets;
(e)receipts from membership fees;
(f)income from the sale of services and assets not directly serving the objects of the association;
(g)consideration for the sale of fixed assets and capital assets;
(h)other income;
(4)a bound book in which shall be recorded assets received as donations or as gifts; the record shall include the name of the donor or contributor, a description of the asset received and the date of its receipt;
(5)an expenditure account in which shall be recorded separately, expenditures in respect of:
(a)donations and participations given to another person;
(b)wages and ancillary expenses;
(c)management expenses and general expenses;
(d)interest expenses and linkage differentials;
(e)amounts for the acquisition of services and assets not directly serving the objects of the association;
(f)capital acquisitions;
(g)transactions and loans carried out between the association and a member of the Executive Committee or a relative of a member of the Executive Committee;
(h)other expenditures.

B. An association whose turnover does not exceed NIS 750,000 is required to maintain, for each tax year, a bookkeeping system that shall include at least —

(1)a receipts and payments book, in which shall be recorded in separate columns:
(a)on the receipts side —
(1)allocations and participations from others, including governmental or municipal bodies;
(2)donations originating in the country and donations received from abroad, excluding donations from a foreign political entity;
(2a)donations from a foreign political entity;
(3)income from interest and linkage differentials;
(4)income from the rental of assets;
(5)receipts from membership fees;
(6)income from the sale of services and assets not directly serving the objects of the association;
(7)consideration for the sale of fixed assets and capital assets;
(8)other income;
(b)a bound book in which shall be recorded assets received as donations or as gifts; the record shall include the name of the donor or contributor, a description of the asset received and the date of its receipt;
(c)on the payments side —
(1)donations and participations given to another person;
(2)wages and ancillary expenses;
(3)management expenses and general expenses;
(4)interest expenses and linkage differentials;
(5)payments for the acquisition of services and assets not directly serving the objects of the association;
(6)capital acquisitions;
(7)transactions and loans carried out between the association and a member of the Executive Committee or a relative of a member of the Executive Committee;
(8)other expenditures.
(2)an external documentation file.

C. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Schedule, an association may refrain from recording in the financial report the name of a donor, except in respect of donations from a foreign political entity, if the words "anonymous donation" were noted on the receipt voucher in the place designated for recording the donor's name, and one of the following conditions is met:

(1)the amount of the donation does not exceed the maximum amount prescribed by the Minister;
(2)the Registrar has granted special approval not to state the donor's name in the financial report, in accordance with procedures and guidelines prescribed by the Minister.

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Third Schedule (Section 37a)

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