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Law for the Regulation of the Placement of Beehives, Pollination and Honey Production, 5785-2025

חוק להסדרה של הצבת כוורות, האבקה וייצור דבש, תשפ"ה-2025

Published: 2025-02-23Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2026-07-01 · Last amended 2025-02-23✓ 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

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.

Chapter V: The Pollination and Honey Council

Functions of the Council§

31.
(a)The Pollination and Honey Council shall act to carry out all of the following:
(1)advancement of the professional standard of beekeepers, including the development and streamlining of pollination activities, by means of conducting research, professional guidance and professional publications;
(2)improvement of methods of treating beehives and of storing honey and advancement of efficiency in the honey sector;
(3)centralised supply of means of production and insurance in the honey sector;
(4)provision of the services required by the Permits Committee for its activity in accordance with the provisions of section 12(b).
(b)Nothing in the provisions of this section shall derogate from the objectives of the Council in accordance with its constitutive documents.

Appointment of Office Holders§

32.
(a)The appointment of the following shall be made after consultation with the Appointments Review Committee as defined in the Government Companies Law, 5735-1975 (in this section — the Government Companies Law), in its composition under section 60a of that Law, and for this purpose the provisions of sections 16a, 17, 17a, 18a to 18c, 24(c) and 37(c) of the Government Companies Law shall apply, as the case may be:
(1)State representatives on the board of directors;
(2)the chairperson of the board of directors;
(3)the Director General.
(b)If the Appointments Review Committee has decided not to recommend a candidate for a position referred to in subsection (a) in whom the circumstances referred to in section 18c(a) of the Government Companies Law are present, the candidate shall not be appointed to such a position.

Restrictions on Service as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Council§

33.

The following are not qualified to serve as members of the board of directors of the Pollination and Honey Council other than on behalf of the State:

(1)a Minister, a Deputy Minister and a Knesset member;
(2)a person whose personal affairs or other occupations, other than affairs arising from the person's role in the body that appointed the person and other than occupations in the sector to which the person belongs, are liable to cause the person to be in a state of frequent conflict of interests between the person's role as a member of the board of directors and the person's personal affairs or other occupations as aforesaid.

Expiry of Office of a Member of the Board of Directors of the Council§

34.

A member of the board of directors of the Pollination and Honey Council shall cease to serve if one of the circumstances disqualifying a person from serving on the board of directors is present in that member, or in accordance with the provisions of the articles of association of the Pollination and Honey Council.

Conflict of Interests of a Member of the General Meeting or a Member of the Board of Directors§

35.

Notwithstanding the provisions of section 254(a)(1) of the Companies Law, a member of the general meeting or of the board of directors of the Pollination and Honey Council may also take into account the interest of the body or the public of which the member is a representative, insofar as these are connected to the functions of the Council, and the member shall not be regarded as being in a state of conflict of interests by reason of that alone.

Employees of the Council§

36.
(a)The recruitment of employees to the Pollination and Honey Council shall be conducted by means of a public, equal and competitive procedure.
(b)The following provisions shall apply to an employee of the Council performing a function under this Law, as well as the provisions of section 19:
(1)the State Service (Discipline) Law, 5723-1963, with the necessary modifications, and the powers vested in the Minister and the Director General under section 31 of that Law shall be vested in the Minister and the Director General of the Ministry, respectively;
(2)the State Service (Restriction of Party Activity and Collection of Funds) Law, 5719-1959.

Application of Laws and Rules to the Council§

37.

The provisions of the laws listed below shall apply to the Pollination and Honey Council, its office holders and its employees, as the case may be, as if it were a government company, as well as the rules binding a person performing a public function by law:

(1)the Women's Equal Rights Law, 5711-1951;
(2)the State Comptroller Law, 5718-1958 [Consolidated Version];
(3)the Mandatory Tenders Law, 5752-1992, except for section 3a thereof and Regulations made thereunder;
(4)the Employee Protection (Exposure of Offences and Harm to Integrity or Proper Administration) Law, 5757-1997;
(5)the Public Service (Gifts) Law, 5740-1979;
(6)the Freedom of Information Law, 5758-1998.

Annual Work Plan§

38.

The Pollination and Honey Council shall submit to the Minister for approval an annual work plan, including a budgetary breakdown for its implementation, and shall act in accordance with the approved plan.

Levies§

39.
(a)The Minister, after consulting with the Pollination and Honey Council, with the consent of the Minister of Finance and with the approval of the Economics Committee, shall prescribe levies that beekeepers are required to pay to the Pollination and Honey Council, the dates for their payment and the methods of payment; such a levy may be prescribed according to the number of placement points and the number of populated beehives determined in permits or another criterion prescribed by the Minister, and the Minister may prescribe a levy at a reduced rate, subject to conditions to be prescribed.
(b)Until levies are prescribed under subsection (a), a permit holder shall pay to the Pollination and Honey Council an annual levy of NIS 30 for each beehive in respect of which a permit was granted to the permit holder, and not more than the maximum number of beehives that the permit holder is entitled to place during the year; the Council shall send permit holders a payment demand no later than 1 December of the year preceding the year for which the levy is imposed; a permit holder shall pay the levy by the end of March of the year for which the levy is imposed.

Provisions regarding the Budget of the Council§

40.

The Minister, after consulting with the Pollination and Honey Council, with the consent of the Minister of Finance and with the approval of the Economics Committee, may prescribe provisions regarding the preparation and approval of the annual budget of the Council, the limitation of overhead expenditure in the budget of the Council, and the management of the financial system of the Council and oversight thereof, including provisions regarding the submission of budgets and financial forecasts and regarding the publication of annual balance sheets.

Reporting obligations§

41.
(a)The Pollination and Honey Council shall submit to the Minister, or to a Ministry employee authorised by the Minister for this purpose, an annual report on its activities in accordance with its functions under this Law, including a breakdown of the expenditure it incurred in carrying out those activities, and also, at the request of the Minister or the Ministry employee aforesaid, any other information relating to its functions under this Law.
(b)An annual report as referred to in subsection (a) shall be submitted each year by 1 July, in respect of the calendar year preceding the reporting date.
(c)The Minister may make Regulations regarding the manner of transmitting information under subsection (a) and regarding restrictions on the disclosure of information to the public by reason of the protection of trade secrets derived from that information.

Amendment of constituent documents§

42.
(a)In addition to that stated in section 345e(c) of the Companies Law, 5759-1999, the constituent documents shall not be amended except with the approval of the Minister, and in respect of an amendment to the objects of the Pollination and Honey Council in the constituent documents – also with the approval of the Economics Committee.
(b)The constituent documents shall not have the power to derogate from the provisions under this Law.

Winding up of the Council§

43.
(a)A resolution for the voluntary winding up of the Pollination and Honey Council under section 345t of the Companies Law, 5759-1999 shall not be passed except with the approval of the Minister.
(b)An application for the winding up of the Pollination and Honey Council by a court under the provisions of section 345s of the Companies Law, 5759-1999 shall not be filed by the Council or by a member of the General Meeting of the Council except with the consent of the State, to be given by decision of the Government; on the filing of an application for the winding up of the Council and on the filing of any other application in the framework of the winding-up proceedings, the applicant shall also give notice to the Attorney General.
(c)Where an application for the winding up of the Pollination and Honey Council has been filed with the court, the court shall not order the winding up except after it has been satisfied that in the circumstances of the matter it is not possible to bring about the proper functioning of the Council or the realisation of its objects.
(d)Where the court has decided on the winding up of the Pollination and Honey Council, the Government may notify the court that another company that is a public benefit company will fulfil the functions of the Pollination and Honey Council under this Law from the date of its winding up; where the Government has so notified, the powers of the Council shall, from the date of winding up, be conveyed to that company, and the provisions of this Law applicable to the Council shall apply to it, with the necessary modifications; a notice on the transfer of the Council's powers to another company as aforesaid, and the date of their transfer, shall be published in Reshumot (Official Gazette).

Status of assets in winding up§

44.

After the debts of the Pollination and Honey Council to its creditors have been repaid in full, the assets of the Council available for distribution in the winding up shall pass to such person as the court directs, after having received the recommendation of the Minister in that regard, so that they may be used for the benefit of the honey industry; however, where the Government has given notice as referred to in section 43(d), the assets of the Council shall be transferred, in accordance with the directions of the court, to the company referred to in that section.

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Chapter VI: Penalties and Supervision and Enforcement Powers

Penalties§

45.
(a)A person who has done any of the following shall be liable to six months' imprisonment or a fine as referred to in section 61(a)(4) of the Penal Law, 5737-1977, and where the offence was committed by a corporation – double the fine aforesaid:
(1)placed a populated beehive on public real property without a permit from the Permits Committee or contrary to its conditions, contrary to the provisions of section 3;
(2)fed bees contrary to the provisions of section 10;
(3)added a substance to honey before or during its extraction, contrary to the provisions of section 11.
(b)A person who has done any of the following shall be liable to a fine as referred to in section 61(a)(2) of the Penal Law, 5737-1977, and where the offence was committed by a corporation – double the fine aforesaid:
(1)a beekeeper who failed to report to the Permits Committee, contrary to the provisions of section 4(c);
(2)a permit holder who placed a populated beehive that is not marked in accordance with the provisions under section 9.
(c)An office holder in a corporation is obliged to supervise and do everything possible to prevent the commission of offences under subsections (a) and (b) by the corporation or by any of its employees; a person who breaches this obligation shall be liable to a fine as referred to in section 61(a)(1) of the Penal Law, 5737-1977.
(d)Where an offence under subsections (a) or (b) has been committed by a corporation or by any of its employees, it shall be presumed that an office holder in the corporation has breached his obligation under subsection (c), unless he proves that he did everything possible to fulfil his obligation.
(e)In this section, "office holder in a corporation" means an active manager in a corporation, a partner other than a limited partner, or any other person in the corporation who is responsible on behalf of the corporation for the field in which the offence was committed.

Authorisation of inspectors§

46.
(a)The Minister shall authorise, from among the employees of the Ministry, inspectors who shall have the powers under this Chapter, in whole or in part, for the purpose of implementing the provisions under this Law.
(b)As an inspector referred to in subsection (a), a person shall be authorised in whom all of the following conditions are met:
(1)the Israel Police has notified, not later than three months from the date of receipt of the employee's particulars, that it does not object to the authorisation on grounds of public safety, including by reason of the person's criminal record;
(2)the person has received appropriate training in the field of the powers that will be conferred upon him under this Chapter, as directed by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for National Security;
(3)the person meets additional eligibility requirements as directed by the Minister, after consultation with the Minister for National Security.
(c)A notice of the authorisation of an inspector under this section shall be published in Reshumot (Official Gazette).

Supervision powers§

47.

For the purpose of supervising the implementation of the provisions under this Law, an inspector may, after having identified himself in accordance with section 50 –

(1)require any person to provide the inspector with the person's name and address and to present an identity card or other official document identifying the person;
(2)require any person concerned to provide the inspector with any information or document that is capable of ensuring or facilitating the implementation of the provisions of this Law; in this paragraph, "document" includes output as defined in the Computers Law, 5755-1995 (hereinafter – the Computers Law);
(3)conduct inspections or measurements and take samples of materials, and also to submit the measurements or samples for laboratory testing, to preserve them or to deal with them in another manner;
(4)enter a place where the inspector has reasonable grounds to believe that populated beehives, bees, beehives or equipment for the treatment of beehives or bees, including equipment for the extraction of honey, are to be found, including a stationary vehicle, provided that the inspector shall not enter a place used for residential purposes except pursuant to a court order.

Enforcement powers§

48.

Where a suspicion arises of the commission of an offence under this Law, an inspector may –

(1)investigate any person connected to the offence aforesaid or who may have knowledge relating to the offence aforesaid; the provisions of sections 2 and 3 of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance (Testimony) shall apply to an investigation under this paragraph, with the necessary modifications;
(2)seize beehives, including populated beehives, honey, documents and objects connected to the offence aforesaid; the provisions of Chapter IV of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance (Arrest and Search) [New Version], 5729-1969 (hereinafter – the Arrest and Search Ordinance) shall apply to a seizure under this paragraph, with the necessary modifications, as well as the provisions under section 51(b)(7) of this Law;
(3)apply to a court for a search warrant under section 23 of the Arrest and Search Ordinance and execute it; the provisions of sections 24(a)(1), 26 to 28 and 45 of the Arrest and Search Ordinance shall apply to a search under this paragraph, with the necessary modifications.

Conditions for exercise of powers in a security area§

49.
(a)With regard to the entry of an inspector into a security area, the provisions of section 7(c) shall apply.
(b)An inspector shall not exercise the inspector's powers in a security area unless an appropriate security clearance has been determined for that purpose, and in accordance with the information security rules applicable in that security area, all as shall be determined in an approval under section 21(c)(4).

Identification of inspectors§

50.

An inspector shall not make use of the powers conferred upon the inspector under this Chapter except while performing the inspector's duties and when both of the following conditions are met:

(1)the inspector visibly wears a badge identifying the inspector and the inspector's position and wears an inspector's uniform, in the colour and form directed by the Director General of the Ministry for this purpose, provided that such uniform does not appear to be a police uniform;
(2)the inspector holds an inspector's certificate signed by the Minister, attesting to the inspector's position and powers, which the inspector shall present upon request.

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