Penal Law, 5737-1977

One who commits an act of piracy or an act connected with piracy or the like is liable to imprisonment of twenty years.

One who destroys, damages or desecrates a place of worship, or any object held sacred by a body of persons, with intent to insult their religion, or knowing that they are likely to consider such act an insult to their religion, is liable to imprisonment for three years.

One who wilfully disturbs an assembly of persons lawfully gathered for the purpose of religious worship, or wilfully assaults a person officiating at such an assembly or any person attending it, and is unable to prove justification or lawful excuse, is liable to imprisonment for three years.

One who trespasses on a place of worship or burial, or on a place set apart for the purposes of performing funeral rites or for the keeping of the remains of a deceased person, or who treats a deceased person without respect, or who causes disturbance to persons assembled for a funeral, all with intent to wound the feelings of any person or to insult his religion, or knowing that such conduct is likely to wound the feelings of any person or to insult his religion, is liable to imprisonment for three years.

One who does any of the following is liable to imprisonment for one year:

One who gives or promises to a person money, money's worth or other material benefit in order to induce him to change his religion or in order that he should induce another person to change his religion, is liable to imprisonment for five years or a fine of 50,000 liras.

One who receives or agrees to receive money, money's worth or other material benefit in exchange for a promise to change his religion or to cause another person to change his religion, is liable to imprisonment for three years or a fine of 30,000 liras.

In this Section, "marriage" includes betrothal.

A married man who marries another woman, and a married woman who marries another man, are liable to imprisonment for five years.

A person who has been married shall be presumed to be married, for the purposes of section 176, so long as he has not proved that his previous marriage was dissolved or annulled, whether by the death of the spouse, or pursuant to a final judgment of the court or of the competent tribunal, or pursuant to religious law in a manner approved by the competent tribunal, and he shall not be regarded as unmarried except from the time of death or from the time at which the judgment or approval referred to was given.

For the purposes of section 176, it is immaterial —

Where the law applicable to the new marriage is religious law, a person shall not be convicted of an offence under section 176 if the new marriage was celebrated after a marriage permit was granted to him pursuant to a final judgment of a Rabbinical Court and the judgment was confirmed by the President of the Great Rabbinical Court.

Where the law applicable to the new marriage is not religious law, a person shall not be convicted of an offence under section 176 if the new marriage was celebrated after it was permitted pursuant to a final judgment of the competent tribunal on the basis of one of the following:

A man who dissolves the marriage bond against the wife's will, in the absence at the time of dissolution of a final judgment of the court or of the competent tribunal obliging the wife to such dissolution, is liable to imprisonment for five years.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the Evidence Ordinance [New Version], 5731-1971, a spouse is competent to testify against his or her spouse in a trial for an offence under this Section, but neither a spouse nor a person who married the accused in a marriage that has no legal effect shall be compelled to testify.

For the purposes of this Section —

"dagger" — (deleted)

"knife" — an instrument with a blade or any other instrument capable of stabbing or cutting;

"penknife" — a folding knife the blade of which does not exceed ten centimetres in length and which cannot be converted, by means of a spring or by any other means, into a knife with a fixed blade;

"intoxicating beverage" — as defined in section 2 of the Business Licensing Law, 5728-1968.

One who trades in, manufactures or imports a knife not intended to be used in a profession, craft, business, for household purposes or for another lawful purpose, is liable to imprisonment for seven years.

One who enters real property by force in order to take possession of it, whether the force consists in the actual application of force against another person or in threats or in breaking in or in the assembly of an unusually large number of persons, is liable to imprisonment for three years, even if he is entitled to enter that real property, unless the real property was his own but was held by his employee or agent.

One who seizes, without a shadow of right, real property belonging to a person entitled to hold it by law, and who is thereby liable to cause a breach of the peace or a reasonable apprehension of a breach of the peace, is liable to imprisonment for three years.

One who unlawfully participates in an affray in a public place is liable to imprisonment for one year.

One who threatens another in any manner with unlawful harm to the body, liberty, property, good name or livelihood of that person or of another, with intent to frighten or to vex that person, is liable to imprisonment for three years.

"event" means an event in the field of sport, music, singing, dance, drama, cinema, or another field of entertainment or art;

"offence" means an offence constituting a misdemeanour under any law.

One who wilfully and without lawful authority removes, defaces or destroys a notice, announcement or document that has been affixed, or is intended to be affixed, to a building or in a public place by law or by order of a public official is liable to imprisonment for three months.

One who unlawfully writes, draws, sketches or engraves on another's real property, or unlawfully affixes thereto any writing or sign, is liable to imprisonment for one year.

A person shall also be regarded as having committed an offence under section 196 if the content of a printed notice that was affixed unlawfully indicates that person as one who commissioned its preparation or affixing or who directed that the act be carried out, unless that person proved the following:

The limitation period for an offence under section 196 shall be one year.

One who attempts to prevent, sabotage or interfere with a public election — by force, violence, threats or any act that constitutes an offence under this Law — is liable to imprisonment for three years.

A man who lives with a prostitute or who habitually accompanies her, or who exercises control or influence over her in a manner capable of assisting or compelling her to engage in prostitution, is presumed to be living on her earnings, unless the contrary is proved.

One who causes a person to commit an act of prostitution with another person is liable to imprisonment for five years.

One who causes a person to engage in prostitution is liable to imprisonment for seven years.

One who consumes an act of prostitution from a minor is liable to imprisonment for five years.

One who claims not to have known the age of the person against whom or in relation to whom an offence under this Section was committed bears the burden of proof; this provision shall not apply in respect of an offence under section 214(b3).

A person who keeps or manages a place, including a motor vehicle or a vessel, for the purpose of engaging in prostitution, is liable to five years' imprisonment.

A person who lets or renews the lease of a place, including a motor vehicle or a vessel, knowing that it serves or will serve as a place for a person for acts of prostitution, is liable to six months' imprisonment; and the same applies if the person did not discontinue the letting of a place after becoming aware that it serves as aforesaid, notwithstanding that the person has the right to discontinue the letting and to demand vacation on that account.

A person who transmits information or publishes a publication concerning the provision of a prostitution service, where the service provider is a minor, is liable to five years' imprisonment or a fine as referred to in section 61(a)(4), and if the offence was committed by a corporation — double the said fine; for the purpose of an offence under this section, it is immaterial whether the prostitution service is provided in Israel or outside Israel, whether the information relates to a specific minor or not, or whether the publication indicates that the service provider is a minor or not.

A person who publishes a publication concerning an offer to engage in prostitution is liable to three years' imprisonment or a fine as referred to in section 61(a)(4), and if the offer to engage in prostitution is directed at a minor — five years' imprisonment or the said fine; if the offence was committed by a corporation, it is liable to double the said fine.

A person who permits a minor between the ages of two and seventeen years who is in the person's custody or supervision to reside in a brothel or to frequent it, is liable to three years' imprisonment.

"offensive publication" — any of the following:

"billboards" — advertising signs erected alongside roads, advertising signs inside public transport buses or on their external sides or at the bus stops of such buses, as well as advertising signs on notice boards under the supervision of a local authority.

A person shall not be regarded as committing an offence under sections 205a, 205c, 205d and 214, if the transmission of information, the publication, the possession or the consumption was carried out for a legitimate purpose, including for the purpose of accurate and fair reporting on a matter dealt with in this Section, provided that the transmission of information, the publication, the possession or the consumption is not prohibited under any other law and was not done in order to encourage acts prohibited under this Section.