Israel Anti-Spam Law and B2B Cold Email: Section 30A (2026)

What is Israel's anti-spam law?

"The Spam Law" is the common name for section 30A of the Communications Law (Telecommunications and Broadcasting), 5742-1982. In force since December 2008, it bans sending an advertisement without the recipient's consent by fax, automatic dialer, SMS or "electronic message", which includes email.

The "advertiser" also includes whoever's business the message promotes, so hiring an agency doesn't take a company out of the picture. A corporation's manager and the person in charge of its marketing must also supervise and prevent violations.

What counts as an "advertisement" under section 30A?

In the law's words, among other things: "a message distributed commercially, whose purpose is to encourage the purchase of a product or service or to encourage spending money in another way."

A sales email easily meets the second half. But is an email written by hand to one person "distributed"? I found no Supreme Court ruling on it, and wouldn't build a 1,000-recipient campaign on it.

When can you email without prior consent?

The rule is express prior consent in writing (email or a recorded call count), with two exceptions that touch businesses. The first is an existing customer, if all three hold:

• They gave their details while buying or negotiating to buy, and were told they'd be used for advertising;
• They had a chance to refuse, and didn't;
• The advertisement is for a similar kind of product or service.

The second, a one-time approach to a business, is the only one that matters for winning new customers.

Can you send a cold email to a business in Israel?

Once, to ask for consent: section 30A(b) allows a one-time approach to a business that "constitutes an offer to consent to receive advertisements," and the Supreme Court held it must be "neutral".

In LCA 1954/14, the Hazani case, Justice Uzi Vogelman wrote that "an approach that in itself includes an advertisement cannot be considered an approach of the kind permitted by the section." Otherwise, he explained, any advertiser could send one advertisement and attach an offer to receive more.

So a first email that presents your service, lists clients and asks for a meeting, then ends "if this isn't for you, just say so," is exactly that combination.

Easy to miss: in parentheses, the Justice noted that what counts as a "business" was not addressed, and assumed the plaintiff's email addresses belonged to one. Is a finance director emailed at her company address a "business"? This ruling doesn't say, and I haven't found a later Supreme Court ruling that does. If you get one question for your lawyer, make it this one.

How much does breaking the Spam Law cost?

A court may award up to NIS 1,000 per advertisement sent in breach, with no need to prove damage.

These "exemplary damages" are for sending knowingly, and knowledge is presumed until the advertiser proves otherwise, which after a refusal notice, or with a list made of random strings of letters and digits, it can't.

In Hazani, the Supreme Court held that the full amount is the starting point for a single violation, and that the court should stop at a sum that deters enough. There's also a separate criminal fine.

What does Israel's privacy law say about direct mail?

The Protection of Privacy Law, 5741-1981 defines direct mail as "a personal approach to a person, based on their belonging to a population group determined by one or more characteristics of people whose names are included in a database," and requires certain details in every such approach.

Per the Privacy Protection Authority's guideline (No. 2/2017, updated for Amendment 13), the Spam Law looks at how a message is sent and direct mail at how recipients were selected; one approach can fall under both and must meet both. "CFOs at logistics companies in central Israel" is selection by characteristic.

A written removal request needs a written answer; after 30 days without one, the person can go to the Magistrate's Court. The law's "database" excludes a collection of only names, addresses and contact details on up to 100,000 people that reveals nothing else, and a B2B list almost always holds role and company too.

What must a cold email in Israel include?

An advertisement must say it is one, who sent it and how to refuse; direct mail adds its own details.

Per the Authority, a database registration number is needed only when the data came from a direct mail service's database. Under the Spam Law, recipients can refuse anytime, free, in writing or the way the advertisement arrived, and since 2018, ending an ongoing engagement counts as a refusal notice in itself.

What did Amendment 13 change?

Amendment 13, in force since August 14, 2025 (passed August 5, 2024), narrowed database registration and let the Authority impose monetary sanctions.

Per the Authority's guide to Amendment 13, private-sector registration "was almost entirely abolished." It remains, among other cases, for a database whose main purpose is passing personal data to others as a business or for payment, direct mail services included, on more than 10,000 people. So your lead list probably needs no registration; a list seller's database probably does.

For direct mail without the 17F(a) details, the Authority may impose, per the same guide, NIS 50 times the number of recipients, at least NIS 30,000 per violation: NIS 250,000 for 5,000 people. (Amounts are index-linked: as of 2026, Nevo shows NIS 51.18 and NIS 30,710.)

How do you send B2B cold email in Israel safely?

Pick a legal basis, identify yourself, offer a way out, know your list's source, and have a lawyer read the copy.

1. Decide if it's an advertisement. If it aims to encourage a purchase, assume so.
2. Choose a basis: written consent, an existing customer under the three conditions, or a one-time, neutral approach to a business with no pitch and no sequence after it. "It's B2B" isn't one: section 30A has no such exemption.
3. Put "פרסומת" in the subject line, plus the advertiser's details and a simple way to refuse.
4. Keep one opt-out list for all campaigns and tools, honor requests the same day, and never email an opted-out person again, from any domain.
5. Record where and when each address came from, and what consent you hold.
6. Check the list's source (where B2B leads come from); if you selected by segment, add the direct mail details.
7. Have a lawyer read the copy before the first send.

Technical side: why emails go to spam and our email outreach page. Writing: cold email templates.