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Knesset Law, 5754-1994

חוק הכנסת, תשנ"ד-1994

Published: 1994-05-04Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2025-04-01 · Last amended 2025-12-17✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-28
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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.

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.

Chapter XI: Knesset Research and Information Centre

Provision of Information§

64.
(a)The Knesset Research and Information Centre may demand from an audited body listed in section 9(1) to (6) of the State Comptroller Law, 5718-1958 [Consolidated Version], information, documents and reports (in this Section — information) within the competence of that body and required by the Knesset, Knesset committees, members of the Knesset or Knesset institutions for the performance of their functions; such a body shall provide the Knesset Research and Information Centre with the full information without delay.
(b)A body as referred to in subsection (a) is not obliged to provide the Knesset Research and Information Centre with information as detailed below; however, if part of the information can be transferred or if it can be transferred subject to conditions, the information shall be transferred in part or subject to conditions:
(1)information whose disclosure is liable to endanger the security of the State or its foreign relations;
(2)information whose preparation requires the allocation of unreasonable resources on the part of such a body;
(3)information from such a body with judicial, prosecutorial or investigative authority under law, regarding the content of pending legal proceedings;
(4)information regarding internal consultations, as well as draft information.
(c)A decision of a body as referred to in subsection (a) that information cannot be provided to the Knesset Research and Information Centre as detailed in subsection (b), or that information shall be provided in part or subject to conditions, shall be delivered by the Minister responsible for the body, and if the body is not subordinate to a Minister — by the head of the body, in writing and accompanied by reasons.
(d)Information shall not be provided pursuant to this Section if its provision is prohibited under any law.
(e)Nothing in the provisions of this Section shall derogate from the obligation to provide information to the Knesset and its committees pursuant to Basic Law: The Knesset and pursuant to Basic Law: The Government.

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Chapter XII: Lobbyists

Definitions§

65.

In this Chapter —

"the Committee" — a committee whose members are the Speaker of the Knesset, who shall be the chairperson, and two Deputy Speakers, one from the coalition factions and one from the opposition factions, to be elected by the Knesset Presidium; if there is a change in the factional affiliation of a member of the Committee to those factions, the Knesset Presidium shall elect another member to the Committee so as to preserve the composition as aforesaid;

"benefit" — including money, money's worth, an asset, a product or a service;

"lobbyist" — a person who, in the course of an occupation or in return for consideration on behalf of a client, takes action to persuade a member of the Knesset in connection with bills and subsidiary legislation in the Knesset or its committees, decisions of the Knesset and its committees, and the appointment or election of a person to a position by the Knesset or by a body of which a representative of the Knesset is a member, excluding the following:

(1)a person who, within the framework of his employment, takes action as aforesaid on behalf of his employer;
(2)a person who holds a position under law in the State service, in a local authority or in a corporation established by law, even if not as an employee, and takes action as aforesaid within the framework of his position and in connection with the powers and functions of the body on behalf of which he acts;
(3)a person who represents an office holder or performs a function in a quasi-judicial proceeding before the Knesset or a committee of its committees.

Permit for a Lobbyist§

66.
(a)A lobbyist shall not operate in the Knesset except under a permit from the Committee; the foregoing shall also apply to a committee session of the Knesset held outside the Knesset premises.
(b)A person wishing to act as a lobbyist in the Knesset shall submit to the Committee an application that shall include all of the following:
(1)his personal details, and if the applicant acts within the framework of a corporation — the type of corporation, its name and number;
(2)the names of the clients he wishes to represent in the Knesset, on a permanent or one-time basis, and their field of activity, as well as the name and fields of activity of every body that has given him a payment or benefit in connection with the matter for which the lobbyist is seeking to act in the Knesset;
(3)if the applicant is a member of an electing body of a party — the name of the party; in this Chapter, "electing body" — a body that elects candidates for the Knesset or for the office of Prime Minister or Minister in the Government, and in which the number of persons having the right to vote does not exceed five thousand;
(4)the applicant's declaration that he undertakes to act in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter.
(c)If there is a change in the details referred to in subsection (b), the lobbyist or the person seeking to act as a lobbyist in the Knesset shall deliver written notice thereof to the Committee immediately after the change.
(d)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), if a person has submitted an application to act as a lobbyist in the Knesset and his application has not yet been answered, the Speaker of the Knesset may grant him a temporary permit to act as a lobbyist in the Knesset until the Committee's decision, and the provisions of this Chapter shall apply with the necessary modifications.
(e)The Speaker of the Knesset shall issue instructions prohibiting or restricting entry to certain areas within the Knesset premises for lobbyists who have been granted an entry permit pursuant to the Knesset Premises, Compound and Guard Law, 5728-1968.

Restriction on Granting a Permit§

67.

A permit shall not be granted to a person to act as a lobbyist in the Knesset, and a person shall not act as a lobbyist in the Knesset, if any of the following applies:

(1)he served as a member of the Knesset, as a Minister or as a Deputy Minister in the year preceding the date of the grant of the permit;
(2)he is an employee of the Knesset, of a member of the Knesset, or a member of the parliamentary staff as defined in the Political Parties Financing Law, 5733-1973;
(3)he was an employee of a member of the Knesset in the six months preceding the date of the grant of the permit; this provision shall apply to a person who was an employee of one or more members of the Knesset for at least one consecutive year immediately before the said period.

Identification§

68.
(a)While in the Knesset premises, a lobbyist shall wear, in a visible place on his clothing, a unique identification tag for a lobbyist that he shall receive from the Knesset, bearing his name, and if he acts within the framework of a corporation — also the name of the corporation.
(b)In every approach, whether in writing or orally, in connection with his activities as a lobbyist, the lobbyist shall indicate to a member of the Knesset, a person listed in section 67(2), and also to a committee of the Knesset, that he is acting as a lobbyist in the Knesset under a permit and who the client on whose behalf he is acting is, as well as what direct interest he is seeking to promote.
(c)A lobbyist present at a session of a committee of the Knesset, whether at the Knesset premises or outside it, shall request that his name, the fact of his being a lobbyist, the name of the corporation within whose framework he acts and the client on whose behalf he is acting at that session be recorded in the minutes of the session, as well as any additional regular clients of his or of the corporation as aforesaid whose affairs are directly relevant to the subject of the session.

Prohibitions§

69.
(a)A lobbyist shall not do any of the following:
(1)offer or grant a member of the Knesset a benefit as part of his efforts to promote the interests of his clients;
(2)mislead a member of the Knesset with respect to any material fact in connection with the parliamentary activity of the member of the Knesset;
(3)take action to persuade a member of the Knesset by improper means, including pressure, threats, enticement or a promise of a benefit;
(4)cause a member of the Knesset to undertake towards the lobbyist or his clients that he will vote or act in a particular manner;
(5)act as provided in paragraphs (1) to (4) towards a person listed in section 67(2);
(6)cause, in his activity as a lobbyist, substantial harm to the dignity of the Knesset or its members;
(7)approach, in writing or orally, in connection with his activity as a lobbyist, an employee of the Knesset Research and Information Centre.
(b)If a lobbyist has breached a provision of the provisions pursuant to this Chapter, or if criminal investigation or prosecution proceedings have been taken against him in connection with his activity as a lobbyist, the Committee may revoke the permit granted to him pursuant to this Chapter, including a conditional revocation, or prohibit his entry to the Knesset premises, including a conditional prohibition, all for a period to be determined by it, and if the lobbyist acted within the framework of a corporation — the Committee may act as aforesaid against lobbyists and additional persons acting within the framework of that corporation.
(c)If a person has acted as a lobbyist in the Knesset without a permit pursuant to this Chapter, the Committee may decide not to grant him such a permit or to prohibit his entry to the Knesset premises, all for a period to be determined by it, and if he acted within the framework of a corporation — the Committee may act as aforesaid against additional persons acting within the framework of that corporation.
(d)The Committee shall not exercise its powers pursuant to subsections (b) or (c) unless it has afforded the lobbyist or the person who acted as a lobbyist without a permit an opportunity to present his arguments.

Publication on the Knesset Website§

70.

The Knesset shall publish on its website —

(1)the names of lobbyists who have received a permit to operate in the Knesset pursuant to this Chapter, including holders of a temporary permit as provided in section 66(d);
(2)the details of the clients as provided in section 66(b)(2);
(3)with regard to a lobbyist as referred to in paragraph (1) who acts within the framework of a corporation — also the details of the corporation;
(4)with regard to a lobbyist as referred to in paragraph (1) who is a member of an electing body — also the name of the party as provided in section 66(b)(3).

Implementation and Regulations — Chapter XII§

71.

The Speaker of the Knesset is responsible for the implementation of this Chapter and may, with the approval of the House Committee, make Regulations regarding anything relating to its implementation, and also issue instructions regarding the activity of lobbyists in the Knesset premises.

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Schedule (Section 1(b))

In the Land of Israel the Jewish people arose; here their spiritual, religious and political character was shaped; here they lived a life of sovereign nationhood; here they created national and universal cultural assets and bequeathed to the entire world the eternal Book of Books.

The State of Israel shall be open to Jewish immigration and to the ingathering of the exiles; it shall devote itself to the development of the land for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it shall be based on the principles of liberty, justice and peace as envisioned by the prophets of Israel; it shall maintain complete social and political equality for all its citizens without distinction of religion, race or sex; it shall guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it shall safeguard the Holy Places of all religions.

We extend the hand of peace and good-neighbourliness to all neighbouring states and their peoples, and call upon them to cooperate and assist one another with the independent Hebrew people in its land.

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