LawCriminal Law
Penal Law, 5737-1977
חוק העונשין, תשל"ז-1977
Published: 1977-08-04Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2026-07-02 · Last amended 2026-06-30✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-28
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Section B: Imprisonment
Life Imprisonment [XI/7]§
41.
Where an offence is punishable by life imprisonment and it has not been prescribed as a mandatory punishment, the term of imprisonment imposed by the court shall not exceed twenty years.
Imprisonment without Fixed Term [XI/8]§
42.
Where an offence is punishable by imprisonment and no term has been fixed therefor, the term of imprisonment imposed by the court shall not exceed one year.
Calculation of Term of Imprisonment [XI/9]§
43.
Where a person is sentenced to imprisonment, the term of imprisonment shall be calculated from the date of the judgment, unless the court has directed otherwise; where the convicted person is released on bail after the judgment, the days of release shall not be counted towards the term of the punishment.
Deferred Imprisonment [XI/10]§
44.
Where the court has imposed a sentence of imprisonment, it may order that the punishment shall commence from the date it has fixed.
Concurrent Imprisonment [XI/11]§
45.
(a)(Repealed)
(b)Where a person has been sentenced to imprisonment and, before serving the full punishment, is again sentenced to imprisonment, and the court that last sentenced him has not directed that the sentences of imprisonment, all or part of them, shall be served consecutively, that person shall serve only one sentence of imprisonment, being that of the longest term.
(c)Where a person has been sentenced to two or more terms of imprisonment, one of which partially overlaps with another, that person, after having served one term of imprisonment, shall serve only the remainder of the other term of imprisonment that does not overlap.
Order of Serving Criminal Imprisonment [XI/12]§
46.
Where a person has been sentenced to different terms of imprisonment that he must serve consecutively, he shall first serve the shorter term, excluding imprisonment that he had already begun to serve at the time he was sentenced to additional imprisonment, and subject to the provisions of section 58; where among the terms of imprisonment there is imprisonment for non-payment of a fine, he shall serve it first, before any other criminal imprisonment, and if he was serving criminal imprisonment at the time imprisonment for non-payment of a fine was imposed on him, that imprisonment shall be suspended for the purpose of serving the imprisonment for non-payment of the fine and shall resume upon the expiration of the said imprisonment.
Order of Serving Civil Imprisonment [XI/13]§
47.
(a)A person on whom civil imprisonment has been imposed shall serve it in addition to any other term of imprisonment that he must serve, whether the other imprisonment is criminal imprisonment or civil imprisonment.
(b)A person on whom civil imprisonment and criminal imprisonment have been imposed shall first serve the civil imprisonment; and if he was serving criminal imprisonment at the time the civil imprisonment was imposed on him, the criminal imprisonment shall be suspended for the purpose of serving the civil imprisonment and shall resume upon the expiration of the civil imprisonment.
(c)A person on whom more than one civil imprisonment has been imposed in respect of a single cause of action shall serve them consecutively in the order in which they were imposed; where the imprisonments are in respect of different causes of action, he shall serve them consecutively in the following order:
(1)imprisonment to compel compliance with an order of a court or to compel proper conduct in a court;
(2)imprisonment to compel payment of a maintenance debt;
(3)imprisonment to compel payment of another civil debt;
(4)imprisonment to compel the grant of a get or the grant of chalitza;
(5)imprisonment in respect of any other cause of action.
(d)In this section —
"criminal imprisonment" means imprisonment imposed in criminal proceedings as a punishment for an offence, including imprisonment for non-payment of a fine imposed as aforesaid;
"civil imprisonment" means imprisonment that is not criminal imprisonment, and for the purposes of subsection (b) — excluding imprisonment imposed by an order under the Execution Law, 5727-1967;
"court" includes a tribunal and an inquiry committee.
Work in Imprisonment [XI/14]§
48.
(a)A prisoner shall be obligated to work in accordance with the Prisons Ordinance [New Version], 5732-1971, and the Regulations made thereunder; such Regulations shall contain provisions regarding remuneration and the conditions of work of a prisoner outside the prison premises.
(b)A parole board may release a prisoner from the obligation to work or restrict it if it has found one of the following:
(1)his state of health requires it;
(2)the release or restriction will, in its opinion, assist in his rehabilitation;
(3)another reasonable cause.
(c)A prisoner shall not be employed in work outside State institutions except with his consent and under accepted conditions of employment.
49.§
(Repealed — תשס״א־6)
50.§
(Repealed — תשס״א־6)
51.§
(Repealed — תשס״א־6)
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Contact Us →Section B-1: Serving Imprisonment by Community Service
Definitions§
51a.
In this Section —
"the Supervisor" means the Supervisor of Community Service appointed under section 51k;
"household work" — (deleted)
"public work" — (deleted)
"community service" means work outside the walls of a prison, for purposes of public benefit, at a State institution, or at another body or types of bodies designated by the Minister for Internal Security;
"community service worker" means a person sentenced to a punishment of imprisonment by way of community service, from the date fixed for the commencement of performance of the community service.
Serving Imprisonment by Community Service§
51b.
(a)A court that has sentenced a convicted person to actual imprisonment for a period not exceeding nine months may decide, in the judgment, that the convicted person shall serve the sentence of imprisonment, in whole or in part, by way of community service; where the court has determined that part of the sentence of imprisonment shall be by way of community service, the convicted person shall serve that part of the sentence upon the expiration of the term of actual imprisonment, unless the court has determined otherwise.
(b)The court shall not decide as referred to in subsection (a) that a convicted person shall serve the sentence of imprisonment, in whole or in part, by way of community service, unless all of the following conditions are met:
(1)the court has received, prior to the giving of the judgment, an opinion on behalf of the Supervisor (in this Section — the Supervisor's opinion) regarding the suitability of the convicted person for community service, and also regarding the possibility of his placement therein and regarding the community service that the convicted person is capable of performing and the conditions under which it shall be carried out;
(2)the convicted person has consented to serve the sentence of imprisonment by way of community service, in accordance with the conditions set out in the Supervisor's opinion.
(b1)The Supervisor's opinion shall detail the following:
(1)the suitability, unsuitability or limitations on the suitability of the convicted person for serving his sentence by way of community service, in view of the existence of a reasonable ground for concern of harm to the body or life of a person, including the convicted person himself, if the convicted person serves the sentence of imprisonment by way of community service; a determination of unsuitability or limitations on suitability of the convicted person shall be based on an opinion received by the Supervisor, if one has been given, from a police officer authorised for this purpose by the Head of the Investigations and Intelligence Branch of the Israel Police, an employee of the General Security Service authorised for this purpose by the Head of the Investigations Branch of the General Security Service, or an officer in the Prison Service authorised for this purpose by the Head of the Intelligence Division of the Prison Service, as the case may be;
(2)the possibility of placement or non-placement of the convicted person in community service suitable to his health condition and disabilities, if any, his ability to be employed at the types of workplaces at which a community service worker may be employed and his ability to meet the required working hours and work procedures customary at such types of workplaces; for this purpose, the Supervisor may rely on the following:
(a)the offence of which the convicted person was convicted;
(b)prior convictions of the convicted person;
(c)an opinion on behalf of a treatment authority regarding the convicted person, if given, including — if a probation officer's report has been prepared in connection with the proceedings in which the Supervisor's opinion was requested — the summary and recommendations of the report, and if a risk assessment has been prepared under the Protection of the Public from Sex Offenders Law, 5766-2006 — a summary of the updated assessment;
(d)a supervision order under the Protection of the Public from Sex Offenders Law, 5766-2006, and an order under the Restrictions on the Return of a Sex Offender to the Vicinity of the Victim Law, 5765-2004, if issued in respect of the convicted person;
(e)assessments previously given regarding the manner of performance of prior community service by the convicted person;
(f)the health condition of the convicted person and his disabilities, if any, including an opinion on behalf of a treatment authority regarding this matter.
(b2)For the purpose of placing the convicted person in a particular type of community service, in view of the existence of placement restrictions, the Supervisor may rely on the information enumerated in subsection (b1)(2)(a) to (f), and on information regarding the convicted person's past; however, information not enumerated in subsection (b1)(2) shall not be brought before the court and shall not serve as a ground for the non-placement of the convicted person in community service.
(b3)Where the Supervisor has not found a suitable place for the placement of the convicted person in community service, in view of the information enumerated in subsection (b1)(2)(a) to (f), he shall notify the court thereof and shall detail the actions he has taken for the purpose of locating a suitable place and when a suitable place for the placement of the convicted person is expected to become available, having regard to the said information.
(b4)
(1)The court may direct the Supervisor to present to it information as referred to in subsection (b1)(1) upon which the Supervisor's opinion is based, which is confidential by law or whose disclosure to the convicted person or his counsel may, in the opinion of an authority referred to in subsection (b1)(1), harm State security or another important public interest (in this Section — confidential information);
(2)At the request of the convicted person or his counsel, the court shall direct the Supervisor to permit the convicted person to inspect the information upon which the Supervisor's opinion regarding him is based; where the information upon which the said opinion is based is confidential information and the court has found that the interest in its non-disclosure outweighs the need to disclose it for the sake of doing justice, it shall not direct that the convicted person inspect the said information, and shall direct the Supervisor to transmit to the convicted person a summary or particulars of the confidential information, to the extent that this can be done without harming State security or the other important public interest;
(3)The court may inspect confidential information even not in the presence of the convicted person and his counsel and without disclosing its contents to them, unless the convicted person has objected to the court's inspection of the confidential information; such an objection shall be deemed as a withdrawal of the convicted person's consent to serve his sentence by way of community service;
(4)Where the court has directed the Supervisor to allow the convicted person to inspect confidential information upon which the opinion is based, the Attorney General may submit a petition against disclosure of the information; until a decision is given on the petition, the material shall not be disclosed;
(5)For the purpose of its decision on the question of the convicted person's suitability alone for community service, the court may also take into account confidential information brought before it under this subsection.
(c)The court may prescribe conditions for community service.
(d)For the purposes of this section, a term of actual imprisonment shall be calculated as follows:
(1)overlapping terms of imprisonment — according to the longer term;
(2)cumulative terms of imprisonment — according to the total of all the terms.
The Community Service§
51c.
(a)Where the court has imposed a sentence of imprisonment by way of community service, the community service shall commence on the date fixed by the court, having regard to the recommendation of the Supervisor and no later than one month from the date of the giving of the judgment, unless the court has directed that community service commence at a later date; where the court has determined that the convicted person shall serve only part of the term of imprisonment by way of community service, the community service shall commence on the day following the expiration of the term of actual imprisonment; nothing in the provisions of this subsection shall derogate from the authority of the court under section 87.
(b)Sections 2 and 3 of the Conditional Release from Imprisonment Law, 5761-2001 (in this subsection — the Conditional Release Law) shall not apply to a person in respect of whom the court has decided that he shall serve the sentence of imprisonment by way of community service; however, where the said decision applies only to part of the term of imprisonment imposed on him and the remainder of the term of imprisonment pursuant to the decision exceeds three months, or where community service has been suspended pursuant to the provisions of sections 51i or 51j and the remainder of the term of imprisonment that the prisoner must serve as a result of such suspension exceeds three months, sections 2 and 3 of the Conditional Release Law shall apply to the said remainders of the terms of imprisonment.
(c)Community service shall be under the supervision of an inspector appointed by the Supervisor for this purpose (hereinafter — inspector), and the inspector may enlist the assistance of others for this purpose; for every community service worker sentenced to community service for a period exceeding six months, a support and rehabilitation plan shall be prescribed by a probation officer, unless the probation officer has found that such a plan is not required.
(d)The Supervisor or a senior prison officer as defined in the Prisons Ordinance [New Version], 5732-1971 (hereinafter — the Prisons Ordinance), serving as a district community service coordinator authorised for this purpose by the Supervisor (in this Section — district community service coordinator), may transfer a community service worker to another workplace for reasonable grounds.
51d.§
(Repealed — תש״ע־2)
Conditions of Community Service§
51e.
A community service worker shall not receive remuneration and shall not be regarded as an employee of the person for whom or through whom he performs the service, except for the purposes of criminal law, occupational safety laws and liability in torts towards that community service worker.
Period of Community Service§
51f.
(a)The period of community service shall be as fixed by the court in the judgment (in this Section — the period of community service), and the convicted person shall perform the community service continuously during the said period, subject to the provisions of this section.
(b)A working week of a community service worker shall consist of five working days; the number of working hours in a working day of a community service worker shall be eight and a half consecutive hours, however the court or the Supervisor may, in exceptional cases due to special circumstances of the convicted person or in accordance with the custom at the community service workplace, approve the performance of community service at a lower daily number of hours, provided that it shall not be less than six working hours per day.
(c)A community service worker shall not work on a day of rest as defined in section 18a(a) of the Law and Administration Ordinance, 5708-1948, on days of rest prescribed by legislation, and also on one additional day during the week to be fixed by the Supervisor in accordance with the custom at the community service workplace and the needs of the said workplace; the days enumerated in this subsection shall be counted towards the period of community service.
Interruption in Community Service§
51g.
(a)Where work at the community service workplace has ended, the Supervisor or district community service coordinator shall transfer the community service worker without delay to community service at another workplace.
(b)The community service worker shall notify the Supervisor, without delay, of any interruption in work or absence therefrom.
(c)A community service worker shall not be absent from work except with the approval of the Supervisor, the community service coordinator or an inspector, and if absent for medical reasons — also with the approval of a physician; the approval shall be in accordance with rules to be prescribed by the Minister for Internal Security in Regulations.
(d)The period of interruption in community service and the days of absence of a community service worker under this section shall not be counted towards the days of community service, except for absence for medical reasons due to a work accident that occurred in the framework of the community service and at the community service workplace.
Duties of a Community Service Worker§
51h.
(a)A community service worker shall perform the community service imposed on him and shall comply with the rules and instructions prescribed by the Supervisor, the community service coordinator and the inspector, as the case may be, in all matters connected with the community service.
(b)The community service worker shall notify the Supervisor of his permanent residential address, and shall also notify the Supervisor of any change in the said residential address within 48 hours of the date of the change.
Prohibition on Leaving the Country for a Community Service Worker§
51h1.
A community service worker shall not leave the country during the period of community service, except with the approval of the Supervisor.
Administrative Suspension of Community Service§
51i.
(a)The Prison Service Commissioner or an officer of the rank of Commander authorised for this purpose by him may, after having given the community service worker an opportunity to present his arguments before him or before a senior prison officer as defined in the Prisons Ordinance authorised for this purpose by the Commissioner, decide that the community service of the community service worker shall not commence or shall be suspended and that he shall serve his sentence or the remainder of his sentence in prison, as the case may be, if he has found that one of the following applies to the community service worker, as the case may be:
(1)he has not reported for the commencement of serving community service or has been absent from work without the approval of the Supervisor, the community service coordinator, the inspector or a physician;
(2)he is not properly performing the tasks assigned to him or his conduct at work is unsatisfactory;
(3)he has breached a condition of the community service prescribed by the court under section 51b(c);
(4)he has not complied with an instruction of the Supervisor, the community service coordinator or the inspector, or has not fulfilled a duty imposed on him under this Section;
(5)he is in detention or released on bail under conditions that do not permit his reporting for the continuation of performance of community service;
(6)he has concealed a detail or provided a false detail that is material for the purpose of determining his suitability for community service or his placement therein.
(a1)A hearing under subsection (a) shall be conducted orally and documented in writing; where the community service worker has been summoned to a hearing as aforesaid, the community service worker shall continue in his work until a decision is given in his matter as referred to in subsection (a), unless the Supervisor has directed otherwise; where the Supervisor has directed otherwise, the period from the day the community service worker was summoned to the hearing until the decision in his matter shall not be counted towards the days of community service, unless the court has directed otherwise.
(b)
(1)Notice of a decision as referred to in subsection (a) shall be given, without delay, to the community service worker, at the community service workplace or at the offices of the Supervisor, and if the worker has not commenced performance of community service or is absent from his workplace, the notice shall be sent to him by registered mail to the residential address he notified to the Supervisor under section 51h(b); where notice has been sent by registered mail under this paragraph, it shall be deemed to have been delivered to the community service worker within 14 days from the date of dispatch of the notice, unless the worker has proved that he did not receive the notice for reasons beyond his control;
(2)Where the community service worker has commenced performance of community service and a decision as referred to in subsection (a) has been received, his work shall be suspended on the day following the day on which the notice was delivered to him.
(c)Against a decision under subsection (a), the community service worker may submit a petition under section 62a of the Prisons Ordinance [New Version], 5732-1971 (hereinafter — petition) to the District Court in whose jurisdiction the residence of the community service worker is located, within 14 days from the day on which the decision was delivered to him, however the court may, at the request of the community service worker, extend the said period for special reasons to be recorded; the provisions of Section H-1 of Chapter II of the said Ordinance shall apply to such a petition, to the extent that they do not conflict with the provisions of this section.
(d)Where the community service worker has submitted a petition — the commencement of community service shall be stayed or the suspension thereof shall continue, as the case may be, until the day following the day on which the decision of the court is given; where he has not submitted a petition — the community service worker shall serve his sentence or the remainder of his sentence in prison commencing on the day following the day on which the period for submission of the petition has expired.
(d1)A decision under subsection (a) shall have the same effect as an order for the imprisonment of the community service worker; where the community service worker has submitted a petition and the court has decided to dismiss it — the order shall enter into force on the day following the day on which the said decision was given; where the community service worker has not submitted a petition — the order shall enter into force on the day following the day on which the period for submission of the petition has expired.
(e)A decision of a court on a petition shall be carried out commencing on the day following the day on which it was given, unless the court has fixed another date.
(f)The days of suspension of community service under this section shall not be counted towards the period of community service.
Judicial Interruption of Community Service§
51j.
(a)Where a court has convicted a community service worker during the period of his service in respect of another offence, the following provisions shall apply:
(1)Where the court has imposed a sentence of imprisonment in respect of the other offence and has determined that the accused shall not serve it by community service — community service shall not commence or shall be discontinued on the day of sentencing, as the case may be, and the community service worker shall serve his sentence or the remainder of his sentence, as the case may be, in prison from that day or from another day determined by the court; the community service worker shall serve the periods of imprisonment consecutively, unless the court that convicted him in respect of the other offence ordered that the two periods, in whole or in part, shall be concurrent;
(2)Where the court has decided to impose in respect of the other offence a punishment other than that enumerated in paragraph (1) — it may determine that community service shall not commence or shall be discontinued, as the case may be, and that the community service worker shall serve his sentence or the remainder of his sentence, as the case may be, in prison from the day determined by the court.
(a1)The judge or panel that imposed the sentence, and in his or its absence — another judge or panel of the same court, as the case may be, may, after affording the accused an opportunity to present his arguments, impose a different punishment on the accused if one of the following has occurred, and the court may order that community service be discontinued until its decision is given:
(1)The supervisor brought before it a medical opinion of a Prison Service physician, according to which the community service worker has lost his capacity for work and a permanent or prolonged incapacity has been determined for him due to harm that occurred to him after his sentence was imposed;
(2)The supervisor brought before it an opinion based on an opinion of a competent authority enumerated in section 51b(b1)(1), which was not before the court at the time it made its decision under section 51b(a), or which was not known to the supervisor at the time of the hearing under section 51b(a), and according to those opinions the convicted person is not suitable for serving the imprisonment by community service, in view of the existence of a reasonable basis for concern of harm to the body or life of a person, including the accused himself, if the accused serves or continues to serve his sentence of imprisonment by community service; the bringing of the opinions before the court shall be in the manner prescribed in section 51b(b4).
(a2)Where an indictment has been filed against a community service worker in respect of another offence after his sentence of imprisonment by community service was imposed, the judge or panel that imposed the sentence, and in his or its absence — another judge or panel of the same court, at the request of the supervisor, and after affording the accused an opportunity to present his arguments, may order that community service shall not commence or shall be discontinued, and the convicted person shall serve his sentence or the remainder of the sentence in prison, if the court is of the opinion, based on the facts alleged in the indictment, that the commencement or continuation of community service by the accused is no longer consistent with serving a sentence of imprisonment by community service, having regard to the timing of the commission of the offence, its nature, its gravity and the circumstances of its commission.
(b)A decision of a court under subsection (a)(2) or subsection (a2) may be appealed within 14 days from the day the decision was delivered to the appellant; the court shall hear the appeal by a single judge and its decision shall be final; the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law [Consolidated Version], 5742-1982, with respect to appeal, shall apply to a decision of a court to impose a different punishment under subsection (a1).
Shortening of the Community Service Period§
51j1.
(a)The community service period of a community service worker serving a sentence of imprisonment by community service for a period exceeding six months shall be shortened to a period as set out in subsection (c), provided that the supervisor has received all of the following:
(1)Confirmation from a supervisor that the community service worker performed the community service as required and continuously in accordance with the provisions of section 51f, provided that proceedings for administrative discontinuation of community service have not commenced in respect of the community service worker pursuant to the provisions of section 51i;
(2)Confirmation from a probation officer with respect to the community service worker's compliance with the programme assigned to him by the probation officer pursuant to the provisions of section 51c(c), unless the probation officer found that no such programme is required, and if the court has made a probation order in respect of the community service worker under section 1 of the Probation Ordinance [New Version], 5729-1969 — confirmation from a probation officer with respect to the community service worker's compliance with the conditions of the order, as required by the probation officer.
(b)Where the community service period of a community service worker has been shortened pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a), he shall be deemed to have completed serving his sentence at the end of that period.
(c)The shortening of the community service period under this section shall be for the periods set out below, provided that the community service period shall not be less than six months:
(1)In respect of a community service worker serving a sentence of imprisonment by community service for a period exceeding six months and not exceeding seven months — four weeks;
(2)In respect of a community service worker serving a sentence of imprisonment by community service for a period exceeding seven months — six weeks.
(d)The provisions of this section shall apply in respect of the community service period of a community service worker serving a sentence of imprisonment by community service for a period exceeding three months and not exceeding six months, with the following modifications:
(1)In subsection (a), the provision of paragraph (2) — shall not apply;
(2)In place of subsection (c), the following shall be read:
(c)The shortening of the community service period under this section shall be for the periods set out below, provided that the community service period shall not be less than three months:
(1)In respect of a community service worker serving a sentence of imprisonment by community service for a period exceeding three months and not exceeding four months — two weeks;
(2)In respect of a community service worker serving a sentence of imprisonment by community service for a period exceeding four months and not exceeding six months — three weeks.
Supervisor of Community Service§
51k.
(a)The Minister for Internal Security shall appoint a Prison Service officer as supervisor of community service.
(b)The supervisor shall act with due diligence to organise community service, to find community service placements for a variety of population groups, including persons with disabilities, to place convicted persons at work in them, to appoint supervisors from among State employees and to supervise community service.
Regulations§
51l.
(a)The Minister for Internal Security may make Regulations for the implementation of this Section.
(b)Regulations made by the Minister for Internal Security under this Section shall be made in consultation with the Minister of Justice and with the approval of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee of the Knesset, except for Regulations made in respect of bodies as referred to in the definition of "community service" in section 51a.
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