Israeli Accessibility Compliance

Israeli Accessibility Compliance

Instructions

Step 1: Understand the Legal Framework

Israeli web accessibility (negishot) is legally mandatory under the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Act (Chok Shivyon Zechuyot Le'Anashim Im Mugbaluyot), 1998 and the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities (Service Accessibility Accommodations) Regulations, 2013 (Takanot Negishut LeSherut).

| Regulation | Requirement | Status | Penalty | |------------|-------------|--------|---------| | IS 5568 (2017, updated 2020 and 2023) | Israeli accessibility standard, anchored to WCAG 2.0 AA | New websites accessible from 25 October 2015; existing websites by 26 October 2017; the October 2020 date extended the lower-revenue exemption tiers, not the universal deadline | Up to 50,000 NIS statutory civil damages per violation, without proof of harm | | Takanat Negishut LeSherut (2013) | Public websites and apps must comply | In effect; covers services provided to the public | Lawsuits + statutory damages | | Mobile applications | Included in scope per the 2013 regulations; explicitly reaffirmed in later updates | In effect | Same statutory damages | | Government sites | Must meet IS 5568 Level AA | In effect | Commission oversight + administrative penalty |

Note on WCAG version. The statute and regulations reference IS 5568. The dominant reading is that IS 5568, including the September 2023 Part 1 edition, stays legally anchored to WCAG 2.0 AA, with WCAG 2.1 alignment being partial or vendor-claimed rather than the legal baseline. Some sources describe IS 5568:2020 as WCAG 2.1 AA, so sources differ. The safe working target is WCAG 2.0 AA plus the Israeli-specific additions below; meeting WCAG 2.1 (and 2.2) criteria on top of that is useful future-proofing but is not the floor the law sets.

Who must comply: All public-facing Israeli websites and mobile applications of service providers open to the public, including government agencies, educational institutions, healthcare providers, businesses, and non-profits.

Standard conformance is necessary but not sufficient. The legal duty is the regulation (Service Accessibility Regulations 2013), which incorporates IS 5568 Part 1 by reference at level AA. You can pass an automated WCAG / IS 5568 audit and still be non-compliant if you lack the accessibility statement, the coordinator (where required), a feedback channel, or the certified-expert opinion described below, and vice versa. Treat "meets IS 5568" and "legally compliant" as two separate checklists.

Certified accessibility expert (Morshe Negishut Hasherut). Where an operator claims an exemption for "technological difficulty" under Regulation 35, the regulation requires a written opinion from a certified service-accessibility expert (morshe negishut hasherut) prepared in consultation with an internet-accessibility professional. In practice the accessibility statement and the audit behind it are also expected to be backed by a morshe negishut; compliance is not a pure developer/automated-audit exercise.

Digital documents (IS 5568 Part 2). IS 5568 is split into Part 1 (web content) and Part 2 (accessibility of digital documents, e.g. PDFs and Office files), published 2020. PDFs and downloadable documents on a public-facing Israeli site fall under the accessibility duty and are one of the most common real-world audit failures, so do not stop at the HTML.

Step 2: Who Is Exempt

The Service Accessibility Regulations base website-accessibility exemptions on revenue, not on employee count. There is no "25 employees" or "300,000 NIS" trigger in the regulations. The exemption tiers are:

| Operator | Exemption | |----------|-----------| | Osek patur (VAT-exempt dealer) | Full exemption from website accessibility | | Average annual revenue under the small-business threshold (sources differ: some cite 100,000 NIS, others 120,000 NIS; confirm against the current regulation before relying on it) | Temporary 3-year exemption, renewable every 3 years while average revenue stays at or below that threshold | | Average annual revenue from that threshold up to 1,000,000 NIS | 3-year exemption for an existing site whose operation began before 26 October 2017; a new site built after that date must be accessible | | Average annual revenue above 1,000,000 NIS | No automatic exemption. The operator must apply to the Commission for Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities to claim a heavy-burden exemption |

These exemptions (except the heavy-burden application) are automatic and need no approval, but the operator must re-check their revenue every 3 years. The exact small-business threshold figure is contested between sources, so a borderline operator should verify against the regulation text or the Commission rather than self-certify as exempt. Exemption from website accessibility does not exempt the operator from other service-accessibility duties, nor from the separate physical-premises accessibility duty (negishut hamivne), which is governed by its own regulations.

Step 3: Enforcement and Penalties

Two enforcement tracks run in parallel:

• Civil lawsuit. A claimant can sue for up to 50,000 NIS in statutory damages without proof of harm, only needing to show the site is non-compliant. 60-day cure period: a deviation is not treated as a violation unless the operator was first sent a notice demanding a fix and failed to fix it within a reasonable time, no later than 60 days from receiving the notice. A class-action request for an inaccessible site has no cause of action if no prior fix notice was sent. This is a real defense for operators.
• Administrative enforcement by the Commission. Amendment 23 to the Equal Rights Act gave the Commission for Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities an administrative track: warnings, commitments, accessibility orders, and an administrative monetary penalty (izum kaspi). The penalty amount is scaled by the operator's size (micro business up to 2,000,000 NIS turnover, small business up to 20,000,000 NIS, regular business above that or a public authority) and by the cost of the specific accommodation, with a per-day charge while a violation continues. Reductions apply for a clean prior record and for corrective action. This penalty is separate from and on top of the 50,000 NIS civil damages.

Filing a complaint (user side). A user who hits an inaccessible site sends the operator a fix notice (which starts the 60-day clock); if it is not fixed in time, the user can complain to the Commission for Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities or sue for the statutory damages. The operator's accessibility coordinator (Step 4) is the first point of contact for such complaints, so an operator should route incoming accessibility complaints through the coordinator and act within the cure window.

Step 4: The Accessibility Coordinator (Rakaz Negishut)

The Service Accessibility Regulations require a service provider that is a public body, or that employs 25 or more employees, to appoint one of its staff as an accessibility coordinator (rakaz negishut). Note this 25-employee figure is the trigger for the coordinator appointment, not for the website-accessibility duty itself, which is universal subject to the revenue exemptions above. The coordinator:

• Gives the public information about the accessibility arrangements of the provider's assets and services.
• Handles accessibility inquiries and complaints from the public.
• Helps the parties responsible for accessibility carry out and maintain the required accommodations.

The coordinator's name and contact details must appear in the accessibility statement (see Step 9).

Step 5: IS 5568 vs WCAG -- Key Differences

IS 5568 is anchored to WCAG 2.0 AA (sources differ on whether the current edition reaches 2.1) and adds Israeli-specific requirements:

| Area | WCAG 2.0 AA | IS 5568 Addition | |------|-------------|------------------| | Language | Declare lang attribute | Must support lang="he" with RTL | | Text direction | Not specified | Must declare dir="rtl" for Hebrew content | | Contrast | 4.5:1 for text | Same, plus contrast check with Hebrew fonts | | Form labels | Associated labels | Labels must support RTL alignment | | Error messages | Descriptive errors | Must be in Hebrew for Hebrew sites | | Accessibility statement | Recommended | Mandatory (Hatzaharat Negishot) | | Contact info | Not required | Must provide accessibility contact method | | Bilingual public bodies | Not specified | A government or public body that serves the public in Hebrew and Arabic should make its content accessible in both languages, not Hebrew only |

Step 6: Set Up Accessible RTL HTML Structure

  
  
  שם האתר - כותרת הדף

  
  דלג לתוכן הראשי

  
    
      
    
  

  
    
  

  
    הצהרת נגישות
  

Key IS 5568 requirements in this structure:

• lang="he" and dir="rtl" on the html element
• Skip navigation link in Hebrew ("דלג לתוכן הראשי")
• ARIA roles for landmarks
• Hebrew ARIA labels for navigation
• Link to accessibility statement (Hatzaharat Negishot) in footer

Step 7: Hebrew Screen Reader Compatibility

Test with these screen readers commonly used in Israel:

| Screen Reader | Platform | Hebrew Support | Testing Notes | |--------------|----------|----------------|---------------| | NVDA | Windows | Excellent with eSpeak-ng Hebrew | Free, most common in Israel | | JAWS | Windows | Good with Eloquence Hebrew | Commercial, institutional use | | VoiceOver | macOS/iOS | Good native Hebrew TTS | Built-in, growing adoption | | TalkBack | Android | Good with Google TTS Hebrew | Built-in on Android devices |

Hebrew-specific screen reader patterns:

  טקסט בעברית עם English text משולב

X

  הטופס נשלח בהצלחה

Step 8: RTL-Specific ARIA Patterns

  
    פרטים אישיים

    שם מלא
    
    
      נא למלא שם מלא
    

    תעודת זהות
    
    9 ספרות
    
      מספר תעודת זהות לא תקין
    
  

  סיכום הזמנות
  
    
      מספר הזמנה
      תאריך
      סכום
      סטטוס
    
  
  
    
      ORD-12345
      04/03/2026
      1,234.50 ₪
      הושלם
    
  

Step 9: Accessibility Statement (Hatzaharat Negishot)

IS 5568 requires a published accessibility statement. Required content:

  הצהרת נגישות

  אנו ב-[שם החברה] מחויבים להנגשת האתר לאנשים עם מוגבלויות
     בהתאם לתקן הישראלי IS 5568, המעוגן ב-WCAG 2.0 ברמה AA.

  אמצעי נגישות באתר
  
    האתר תומך בניווט מלא באמצעות מקלדת
    האתר תומך בקוראי מסך (NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver)
    תמונות מלוות בטקסט חלופי
    ניגודיות צבעים עומדת ביחס 4.5:1 לפחות
  

  מגבלות נגישות ידועות
  
    [פרטו כאן רכיבים, דפים או מסמכים שטרם הונגשו במלואם, אם יש, ואת מועד התיקון הצפוי. אם אין מגבלות ידועות, ציינו זאת במפורש]
  

  פנייה בנושא נגישות
  רכז/ת נגישות: [שם]
  טלפון: +972-1-234-5678
  דוא"ל: negishot@example.co.il

  תאריך ביקורת הנגישות האחרונה: [תאריך]
  תאריך עדכון ההצהרה: [תאריך]

The full required-content list (7 items, including known limitations and the audit date) is in references/is-5568.md. A statement that omits known limitations or the audit date is a common audit finding.

Step 10: Automated Accessibility Testing

See scripts/audit_a11y.py for the full audit pipeline.

# Quick accessibility check with axe-core via selenium
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.options import Options

def run_accessibility_audit(url):
    options = Options()
    options.add_argument('--headless')
    driver = webdriver.Chrome(options=options)
    driver.get(url)

    # Inject axe-core
    axe_script = open('axe.min.js').read()
    driver.execute_script(axe_script)

    # Run audit with Hebrew locale rules
    results = driver.execute_script("""
        return axe.run({
            rules: {
                'html-has-lang': { enabled: true },
                'valid-lang': { enabled: true },
                'document-title': { enabled: true },
                'bypass': { enabled: true },
                'color-contrast': { enabled: true },
                'label': { enabled: true },
                'image-alt': { enabled: true }
            }
        });
    """)

    driver.quit()
    return results

IS 5568 compliance checklist (automated + manual):

| Check | Automated | Tool | |-------|-----------|------| | lang="he" present | Yes | axe-core | | dir="rtl" present | Yes | Custom rule | | Color contrast 4.5:1 | Yes | axe-core | | All images have alt text | Yes | axe-core | | Form inputs have labels | Yes | axe-core | | Skip navigation link | Yes | axe-core | | Keyboard navigation | Manual | Tab-through test | | Screen reader compatibility | Manual | NVDA/VoiceOver test | | Hebrew error messages | Manual | Visual inspection | | Accessibility statement | Manual | Page existence check |

See references/is-5568.md for the complete checklist mapped to IS 5568 clauses.

Recommended MCP Servers

No relevant MCP server applies to Israeli accessibility compliance. The skills-il MCP directory has no accessibility, IS 5568, or WCAG-auditing MCP at this time. The audit in this skill runs as a local Python script (scripts/audit_a11y.py), not through an MCP. If an accessibility-audit MCP is added to the directory later, prefer it for live-site scanning and keep the script for offline checks.

Examples

Example 1: Audit Existing Israeli Website

User says: "Check if my website meets Israeli accessibility standards" Result: Run scripts/audit_a11y.py against the URL, check for IS 5568 requirements including Hebrew lang attribute, RTL direction, contrast ratios, ARIA labels in Hebrew, skip navigation, and accessibility statement page. Generate a compliance report with pass/fail per criterion.

Example 2: Add Accessibility Statement Page

User says: "I need to add an accessibility page to comply with Israeli law" Result: Create a Hebrew accessibility statement (Hatzaharat Negishot) page with all legally required sections: compliance level, accessibility features, known limitations, contact information for the accessibility coordinator (rakaz negishot), and last update date.

Example 3: Fix RTL Form Accessibility

User says: "Screen readers are not reading my Hebrew form correctly" Result: Add dir="rtl" to the form element, ensure all labels are associated with inputs and use Hebrew text, add aria-required="true" for mandatory fields, provide Hebrew error messages with role="alert", and set dir="ltr" on numeric inputs like phone and ID number fields.

Example 4: Make Hebrew Data Table Accessible

User says: "My Hebrew table is not accessible to screen readers" Result: Add dir="rtl" to the table element, include a Hebrew caption, use scope="col" and scope="row" on header cells, mark LTR content like order numbers with dir="ltr", and ensure logical reading order matches visual RTL order.

Bundled Resources

Scripts

• scripts/audit_a11y.py -- Run IS 5568 accessibility audit: automated checks for Hebrew lang attribute, RTL direction, ARIA labels, contrast ratios, and skip navigation using axe-core and selenium. Generates compliance report with pass/fail per IS 5568 clause. Run: python scripts/audit_a11y.py --help

References

• references/is-5568.md -- Complete IS 5568 standard reference: clause-by-clause requirements mapped to WCAG 2.0 AA, Israeli-specific additions, exemption tiers, the two-track enforcement model (civil damages + Commission administrative penalty) with the 60-day cure period, the accessibility coordinator role, mandatory accessibility statement template, and checklist for compliance audits.
• references/widget-implementation.md -- Copy-pasteable TypeScript/React code for a Regulation 35 accessibility preferences widget: pub-sub prefs store with useSyncExternalStore, class-based CSS toggles, FOUC bootstrap script, Alt+A keyboard shortc

…

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: skills-il
• Source: skills-il/localization
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.