Holocaust Victims' Assets Law (Restitution to Heirs and Dedication for Purposes of Assistance and Commemoration), 5766-2006
חוק נכסים של נספי השואה (השבה ליורשים והקדשה למטרות סיוע והנצחה), תשס"ו-2006
Published: 2006-01-03Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2025-08-14 · Last amended 2024-08-14✓ 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
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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.
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Chapter VI: The Company – Miscellaneous Provisions
Section A: General
Interpretation§
42.
Every term in this Chapter shall have the interpretation attributed to it under the Government Companies Law, unless the context otherwise requires.
Shares of the Company§
43.
(a)All the shares of the company shall at all times be in the ownership of the State only, and they may not be transferred, charged or attached.
(b)The State as shareholder shall be entitled to bring a derivative action and to defend by way of derivative defence, pursuant to the provisions of Chapter III of Part 5 of the Companies Law.
Appointment of Office Holders – Consultation with the Appointments Review Committee§
44.
(a)The appointment of the following shall be made after consultation with the Appointments Review Committee as defined in the Government Companies Law:
(1)A member of the appointing committee as referred to in section 45;
(2)A member of the board of directors as referred to in section 51;
(3)The chairperson of the board of directors as referred to in section 51(f);
(4)The director general as referred to in section 52;
(5)A member of the audit committee as referred to in section 57.
(b)Where the Appointments Review Committee has decided not to recommend a candidate for a position among the positions referred to in subsection (a) in whom the conditions referred to in section 18c(a) of the Government Companies Law are met, the candidate shall not be appointed to the said position.
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Contact Us →Section B: The Appointing Committee
The Appointing Committee§
45.
(a)An appointing committee shall be established (in this Section – the Committee), and its members shall be as follows:
(1)A retired judge, to be appointed by the Minister after consultation with the President of the Supreme Court, and that person shall be the chairperson of the Committee;
(2)Three public representatives who are not State employees and are not employees of the company or office holders therein, to be appointed by the chairperson of the Committee after consultation with the Minister and with the organisations listed in the Second Schedule; at least two public representatives shall be knowledgeable in the fields of activity of the company and at least one public representative shall have accounting and financial expertise within its meaning pursuant to section 240 of the Companies Law.
(b)A member of the Committee shall be appointed for a period of five years and may be reappointed for additional terms of office.
(c)Where the term of office of a member of the Committee pursuant to subsection (b) has ended, that member shall continue to serve until another member has been appointed in the member's place.
Functions of the Committee and Duties of Trust§
46.
(a)The Committee shall appoint the members of the board of directors as referred to in section 51 and shall fulfil any other function assigned to it pursuant to this Law; its members shall act in trust in fulfilling these functions, and without derogating from the generality of the foregoing, the provisions of sections 10 and 13 of the Trust Law shall apply to them in their actions, with the necessary modifications.
(b)Voting rights at the general meeting of the company shall be exercised by the Committee; other rights of a shareholder in the company shall be exercised, with the necessary modifications, by the Committee, the chairperson of the Committee or two members of the Committee.
(c)The appointing committee may consult the Authority regarding the manner of voting at the general meeting, if it sees a need to do so.
(d)The functions and powers of the Committee pursuant to this Law may not be delegated.
Convening the Committee and Procedural Rules§
47.
(a)The chairperson of the Committee shall direct the convening of the Committee and shall set its agenda; nothing in this subsection shall derogate from the power of the board of directors to convene the Committee pursuant to the Companies Law when it sits as a general meeting.
(b)The Committee shall convene at least four times a year; the chairperson of the Committee shall convene the Committee at the demand of at least two members of the Committee; a member of the Committee may approach the chairperson of the Committee with a request that the chairperson direct its convening if the member considers that there is a need to do so.
(c)Decisions of the Committee shall be taken by majority vote; where votes are equal, the vote of the chairperson of the Committee shall be decisive.
(d)Notices of meetings of the appointing committee and notice of its agenda shall also be given to the Authority.
(e)The Authority may approach the chairperson with a request to place a matter on the agenda of the Committee.
(f)Where the Authority considers that the Committee is not fulfilling its functions, it may approach the chairperson with a request that the chairperson direct its convening.
(g)In this section, "the Committee" – including when sitting as a general meeting.
Cessation of the Chairperson of the Committee's Term of Office§
48.
(a)The Minister may direct the cessation of the term of office of the chairperson of the Committee upon the occurrence of any of the following:
(1)The chairperson has submitted a letter of resignation to the Minister;
(2)The chairperson has been permanently incapacitated from fulfilling the chairperson's functions;
(3)An indictment has been filed against the chairperson or disciplinary proceedings have commenced in the chairperson's matter which, by reason of their nature, gravity or circumstances, the Minister considers render the chairperson unfit to continue to serve;
(4)The Committee is not convening and thirty days have elapsed from the date of the Authority's approach to the chairperson of the Committee pursuant to section 47(f) with a request that the chairperson direct its convening;
(5)The chairperson has found that the Committee is not fulfilling its function.
(b)The Authority may approach the Minister with a request for the cessation of the term of office of the chairperson of the Committee if it has found that grounds therefor exist.
(c)Where the board of directors has found that the Committee is not convening and is not fulfilling its function, it may approach the Minister, after approaching the chairperson of the Committee, with a request that the Minister direct the cessation of the term of office of the chairperson of the Committee.
Termination of Office of a Committee Member§
49.
The chairperson of the Committee may order the termination of office of a committee member upon the occurrence of one of the following:
(1)the committee member submitted a letter of resignation to the chairperson;
(2)the committee member is permanently prevented from fulfilling his duties;
(3)the committee member was absent from three meetings of the Committee and in the opinion of the chairperson there was no reasonable cause for his absence, or the chairperson is of the opinion that he is not fulfilling his duties;
(4)an indictment was filed against the committee member or disciplinary proceedings were initiated in his matter which, by reason of their nature, severity or circumstances, the chairperson is of the opinion that he is not fit to continue to serve.
Remuneration and Expenses for Committee Members§
50.
The chairperson of the Committee and a committee member shall be entitled to remuneration and expenses to be paid to them by the company according to the number of Committee meetings in which they participated, in accordance with the remuneration and expenses paid to the chairperson of a board of directors and to directors pursuant to Regulations made by virtue of section 19 of the Government Companies Law, 5735-1975, as the case may be.
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Contact Us →Section C: The Board of Directors, the General Manager and the Audit Committee
The Board of Directors and Its Appointment§
51.
(a)The Appointing Committee shall appoint the board of directors of the company, which shall consist of nine members.
(b)Two thirds of the members of the board of directors shall be appointed from a list of nominees to be submitted to the Appointing Committee by the organisations listed in the Second Schedule, which shall include at least ten candidates; the remaining third shall be appointed from a list of nominees to be submitted by the Minister to the Appointing Committee, which shall include at least five candidates.
(c)An office holder or a member of the management of an organisation listed in the Second Schedule, or of an organisation represented by such an organisation, shall not be a member of the board of directors of the company.
(d)Members of the board of directors shall possess the qualifications, professional experience and competence required of directors in a government company pursuant to the provisions of the Government Companies Law, 5735-1975; at least three of the members of the board of directors shall have knowledge in the fields of activity of the company; at least one of the members of the board of directors shall be a person who possesses accounting and financial expertise within the meaning of section 240 of the Companies Law, 5759-1999.
(e)A member of the board of directors shall cease to serve before the end of the period for which he was appointed if a ground from among the grounds listed in section 22(a)(1) to (6) of the Government Companies Law, 5735-1975, as applied pursuant to section 65, is fulfilled in his regard.
(f)The board of directors, with the approval of the Appointing Committee, shall appoint the chairperson of the board of directors from among its members; if a chairperson of the board of directors has not been appointed within 60 days from the day on which the board of directors commenced its activities or from the day on which the tenure of the previous chairperson ended, as the case may be, the Appointing Committee may appoint one.
(g)If the number of members of the board of directors who are entitled to participate in its meetings falls below the quorum for its meetings, and this situation continues for more than 30 days, or if the number of members falls below the minimum number prescribed in the articles of association of the company and this situation continues for more than 60 days, the Authority may apply to the Appointing Committee with a request that it convene for the purpose of appointing a director or directors in the number required to complete the quorum.
The General Manager§
52.
The board of directors shall appoint the general manager in accordance with the provisions of sections 37(a) to (c) of the Government Companies Law, 5735-1975.
Duties of the Board of Directors and the General Manager§
53.
(a)The members of the board of directors, the chairperson of the board of directors and the general manager of the company shall act in trust for the realisation of the company's purposes, the performance of its functions and the fulfilment of the provisions of this Law; without derogating from the generality of the foregoing, the provisions of sections 10 and 13 of the Trust Law shall apply to them in their activities, in addition to the provisions of any law, with the necessary modifications.
(b)The board of directors shall report in writing to the Minister, to the Finance Committee of the Knesset, and to the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee of the Knesset (in this Law – the Constitution Committee), every six months, on the activities of the company for the realisation of its purposes and the performance of its functions pursuant to section 4, and shall submit to them, at the said time, a financial report on the activities of the company in the preceding six months, including on the following matters:
(1)restitution of assets – the inventory of assets in respect of which the company has determined the connection of an applicant to the asset but the asset has not yet been restored to him, their number and value, and the main reasons why such assets have not been restored;
(2)activities for the realisation of assets pursuant to the provisions of section 37, and in particular –
(a)the inventory of assets in respect of which an investigation to trace heirs has commenced and assets in respect of which the investigation has not yet commenced, their number and value;
(b)assets in respect of which the investigation to trace the heirs and other holders of rights in the assets concluded without heirs being traced and with a recommendation for realisation, their number and value;
(c)the five assets in respect of which the longest period of time has elapsed since the investigation to trace an heir commenced, indicating the time elapsed, and the five assets in respect of which the longest period of time has elapsed since their realisation was approved pursuant to section 37 and they have not yet been realised, indicating the time elapsed;
(2a)activities for tracing heirs –
(a)the inventory of assets, by number and value, held by the company in respect of which an heir has not yet been traced, broken down by type of asset;
(b)the value of the lowest-value asset in each type of asset in respect of which the company has commenced an investigation to trace heirs, excluding publication activities;
(3)investment activities pursuant to the provisions of section 40;
(4)the amount allocated and the amount transferred for the purpose of assistance to Holocaust survivors in need thereof, and details of the manner of assistance, as well as the joint position of the Government ministries as referred to in section 34(b3), and if their position was rejected – the company's response to the position, and also the amount transferred for the purpose of commemoration, if transferred, and the manner of commemoration.
(5)activities to trace assets, including the rates of completion of investigation in different areas of the country.
(c)The company shall furnish to the Minister, to the Finance Committee of the Knesset or to the Constitution Committee, upon their demand, any document or additional information they find it appropriate to require, for the clarification of details that were stated or should have been stated in a report submitted pursuant to subsection (b).
(d)The company shall publish the report submitted as aforesaid in subsection (b) on its website.
Budget of the Company§
54.
(a)The board of directors shall determine the annual budget of the company.
(b)
(1)The board of directors shall determine the annual budget of the company to be allocated for its ongoing activity (in this Chapter – the current budget), with the approval of the Appointing Committee, provided that the amount to be allocated to the current budget from the assets of Holocaust victims shall not exceed –
(a)in the first year of the company's activity – two per cent of the value of the assets expected to be transferred to the company in that year;
(b)from the second year of the company's activity until the financial year 2014 – two per cent of the value of the assets held by the company at the end of the previous budget year;
(c)in financial year 2015 – 80 per cent of the current budget approved for the year 2011, plus linkage differentials to the consumer price index published by the Central Bureau of Statistics, from the index known on 1 January 2011 (in this section – linkage differentials);
(d)in financial year 2016 – 65 per cent of the current budget approved for the year 2011, plus linkage differentials;
(e)from financial year 2017 onwards – 50 per cent of the current budget approved for the year 2011, plus linkage differentials;
(2)from the second year of the company's activity, the board of directors shall determine the current budget, having regard, inter alia, to the experience accumulated with respect to the company's expenditures and the company's activity in previous years and with attention to the company's functions and the tasks before it for the remainder of its period of activity, with a view to adapting the budget to the activity required for the realisation of the company's purposes;
(3)the current budget shall include a separate item with respect to the financing of the company's functions of tracing and restoration as referred to in section 4(1) to (3);
(4)no payments of any kind shall be made to creditors of the company, including within the framework of an arrangement or compromise pursuant to Chapter III of Part 9 of the Companies Law, 5759-1999, except from the current budget.
(c)If the board of directors finds that the current budget approved as referred to in subsection (b)(1) is insufficient to ensure the proper functioning of the company for the realisation of its purposes and the performance of its functions, it may –
(1)apply to a joint committee of the Constitution Committee and the Finance Committee of the Knesset, chaired by the chairperson of the Constitution Committee (in this section – the Joint Committee), with a request that it prescribe by Order a rate higher than the maximum rate prescribed in subsection (b)(1); the Joint Committee shall not approve the increase of the rate unless it has given the Government an adequate opportunity to present its position;
(2)apply to the Appointing Committee with a request that it approve for the company the addition to the current budget of assets that are not assets of Holocaust victims that are at its disposal, in excess of the approved current budget;
(3)apply to the Government, through the Minister, with a request that a budget be allocated to the company from the state budget, in excess of the approved current budget.
(d)If the Minister of Finance finds that the maximum rate prescribed in subsection (b)(1) is higher than what is required, in the circumstances of the matter, for the proper functioning of the company for the realisation of its purposes and the performance of its functions, he may, by Order, with the approval of the Joint Committee, prescribe a rate lower than the said rate, provided that it is sufficient to ensure the proper functioning of the company for the realisation of its purposes and the performance of its functions.
Financing of the Current Budget in the First Two Years§
55.
(a)The sources of financing of the current budget of the company in the first two years of the company's activity shall be:
(1)assets of Holocaust victims transferred to the company in an amount not exceeding that stated in section 54(b)(1);
(2)assets that are not assets of Holocaust victims made available to it, with the approval of the Appointing Committee, pursuant to section 54(c)(2);
(3)a supplementary budget to be allocated from the state budget pursuant to subsection (b).
(b)If the amount constituting two per cent of the value of the assets as detailed in subsection (a)(1) falls below NIS 12 million per year, a budget shall be allocated from the state budget to supplement the said amount to NIS 12 million per year (in this section – supplementary budget).
(c)From the day of establishment of the company, advances shall be transferred to the company from the state budget, on account of the supplementary budget and on account of assets of Holocaust victims that the General Guardian is required to transfer to the company pursuant to the provisions of section 5(a), in a total amount of NIS 12 million, for the benefit of the current budget of the first year of the company's activity.
Asset Management§
56.
(a)(Repealed)
(b)The assets of Holocaust victims transferred to the company, which do not form part of the current budget, including the amounts to be allocated for the purpose of assistance and for the purpose of commemoration, shall be managed separately from the current budget.
Audit Committee§
57.
(a)Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 114, 115, 117 and 118 of the Companies Law, 5759-1999, the Appointing Committee shall appoint an audit committee whose number of members shall not be less than three; office holders in the company shall not be members of the audit committee.
(b)The conditions of eligibility, liability, duties and rights to receive information and to employ advisers of the members of the audit committee shall be as those of directors in the company.
(c)A member of the audit committee shall be entitled to remuneration and expenses to be paid to him by the company according to the number of audit committee meetings in which he participated, in accordance with the remuneration and expenses paid to a director pursuant to Regulations made by virtue of section 19 of the Government Companies Law, 5735-1975.
Functions of the Audit Committee§
58.
The functions of the audit committee are:
(1)to examine, in consultation with the auditor, the financial affairs of the company and its books of account, including the designation of the company's funds for the realisation of its purposes, and to bring its conclusions in light of the said examination before the board of directors and the Appointing Committee;
(2)to identify deficiencies in the management of the company, inter alia in consultation with the internal auditor of the company or with the auditor, and to propose to the board of directors and the Appointing Committee ways of correcting them;
(3)to decide whether to approve actions listed in section 254(a) of the Companies Law, 5759-1999, and transactions pursuant to section 270 of that Law, which require the approval of an audit committee pursuant to the provisions of the Companies Law, 5759-1999, all as applied pursuant to section 65(d).
Changes in Wages and Conditions of Service§
59.
(a)The company shall not agree to changes in wages, retirement conditions or pensions, or to other financial benefits connected to employment, and shall not introduce changes or benefits as aforesaid, other than in accordance with directions given pursuant to section 32(a)(4) of the Government Companies Law, 5735-1975, with respect to employees of government companies whose scope of activity is similar to that of the company.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of any law, any agreement or arrangement is void if it contradicts the provisions of subsection (a).
(c)If the Minister of Finance finds that the company has not complied with the provisions of subsection (a), he may reduce an amount equal to the amount paid as a result thereof from any grant or participation that the company would have received from the Government but for the deviation, for as long as it makes payments contrary to the provisions of this section; this subsection shall not apply to amounts that are to be transferred to the company from the state budget or from the General Guardian pursuant to the provisions of Section A of Chapter III.
(d)
(1)For the purposes of section 22(a)(6) of the Government Companies Law, 5735-1975, as applied to the company pursuant to section 65, a director who knowingly agreed to changes or benefits contrary to the provisions of subsection (a) shall be regarded as a director who is not properly fulfilling his duties;
(2)for the purposes of the provisions of section 42 of the Government Companies Law, 5735-1975, as applied to the company pursuant to section 65, the consent of the general manager to changes or benefits contrary to the provisions of subsection (a) shall be regarded as sufficient ground for the Appointing Committee to remove him from office.
(e)If the Authority finds that an agreement or arrangement apparently contradicts the provisions of subsection (a), it may –
(1)notify the parties to the agreement or arrangement that it has decided to examine it, and that there is a concern that the agreement or arrangement is void, as referred to in subsection (b), if it contradicts the provisions of subsection (a) (in this section – agreement under examination);
(2)give the parties to the agreement under examination, after the notice referred to in paragraph (1) and for a period not exceeding one month, an opportunity to present their arguments in writing and any written information they find it appropriate to submit.
(f)If the Authority finds, on the basis of the evidence before it, including the arguments and information presented by the parties, that the agreement under examination apparently contradicts the provisions of subsection (a) and that a period for its examination is necessary, it may –
(1)prescribe a period, not exceeding four months from the end of the period prescribed pursuant to subsection (e)(2), for the examination of the agreement under examination (in this section – examination period); in circumstances that justify it, the Authority may extend the period referred to in subsection (e)(2) and the examination period, for the purpose of completing the examination;
(2)direct the amount of the permitted payment in respect of the financial benefits connected to employment, within the meaning of this section, under the agreement under examination, which the company is entitled to pay during the examination period (in this section – the permitted payment);
(3)prescribe, notwithstanding the provisions of any law, provisions concerning arrangements for the deposit of payments in excess of the permitted payment to which the company undertook under the agreement under examination, and also prescribe ways of preserving the value of the amounts deposited for the duration of the examination period;
(4)the provisions of the Wage Protection Law, 5718-1958, shall not apply to the payment of wages that is in excess of the permitted payment during the examination period.
(g)An agreement or arrangement in respect of which the Authority has found that it contradicts the provisions of subsection (a) and that the provisions of subsection (b) apply to it, shall not be subject to the provisions of section 31 of the Contracts (General Part) Law, 5733-1973; the Authority may act with respect to such an agreement or arrangement also pursuant to any of the following:
(1)to notify the parties to the agreement of the voidness of the agreement or arrangement as referred to in subsection (b) (hereinafter – the contravening agreement), or of the voidness of part of its provisions, and of the obligation of the company to immediately cease any financial benefit connected to employment that originates in the contravening agreement or in the void provisions;
(2)having regard to the overall wage policy in the public sector, to the extent to which the contravening agreement deviates from what is customary with respect to employees of government companies whose scope of activity is similar to that of the company, and for reasons of justice –
(a)to instruct the company with respect to the agreement or arrangement that may apply to the parties in place of the contravening agreement;
(b)to notify the company that it is obliged to claim restitution of a benefit granted pursuant to the contravening agreement or arrangement;
(3)to direct the transfer of the funds deposited pursuant to subsection (f)(3) to the company, or to the employee, as the case may be, and in accordance with its notice.
(h)
(1)The company shall submit to the Authority once a year, in accordance with the time and manner prescribed in Regulations pursuant to section 33a(a) of the Budget Foundations Law, 5745-1985, a report containing full details of the conditions of employment of every office holder and employee in it;
(2)the company shall report on the conduct of proceedings before a judicial instance or before an arbitrator in a matter of conditions of employment of an office holder or employee as aforesaid, within seven days from the day on which it became aware of the opening of such proceedings;
(3)the Authority may, with the consent of the Minister, require the company to submit information necessary for the purposes of monitoring compliance with the provisions of this section, in the manner and at the time prescribed in the demand, if it had reasonable grounds to suspect that the company is not complying with the provisions of this section;
(4)if personal information as defined in the Privacy Protection Law, 5741-1981, is submitted pursuant to this section, the provisions of that Law shall apply to it;
(5)a person shall not disclose any information submitted pursuant to this section that came to his knowledge by virtue of his position, except for the purpose of performing his work and in connection with this Law or pursuant to an order of a court in connection with legal proceedings;
(6)if the Minister of Finance finds that the company has not submitted information pursuant to the provisions of this subsection, he may withhold the transfer of any grant or participation that the company would have received from the Government, for as long as it does not submit the information; this subsection shall not apply to amounts that are to be transferred to the company from the state budget or from the General Guardian pursuant to the provisions of Section A of Chapter III;
(7)in this subsection –
"office holder" means the chairperson of a board of directors, a director, a general manager, a deputy or assistant general manager, a financial affairs manager, an internal auditor, a legal adviser and any other manager directly subordinate to the general manager and any person fulfilling such a position even if his title is different, and any other office holder to be prescribed by the Minister;
"information" includes any item of knowledge, data or record, whether on a document, in a photograph, recording or electronic database, and including agreements, arrangements and collective and individual wage agreements;
"conditions of employment" means wages including retirement conditions, pensions or other financial benefits connected to employment, and including an undertaking to provide any of these.
(i)The Authority shall submit to the Knesset, annually, a report with respect to the company, which shall be drawn up in a format similar, as far as possible, to the report referred to in section 33a(c) of the Budget Foundations Law, 5745-1985.
(j)The provisions of this section shall not apply to the company if the provisions of Chapters D and E of the Budget Foundations Law, 5745-1985, apply to it pursuant to section 66(b).
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