On Thursday, 15 October 2026, the joint committee of the Knesset's Constitution and Economy committees approved for second and third reading the amendment to the Class Actions Law that protects small businesses. Under the approved wording, no class action can be filed against a business whose annual turnover, in the year before the suit is filed, does not exceed ₪9 million.
It is not law yet. The decision still has to survive a revision motion, the plenum has to approve splitting the bill, the Knesset House Committee has to approve merging a private member's bill into it, and only then do the final plenum votes take place. The Knesset is in its election recess. Constitution Committee chair MK Rotman said the committee will push for a special plenum session to finish the legislation before the elections. Whether that happens in time is in doubt.
₪9 million, up from ₪2 million
The bill that passed first reading in 2024 set the threshold at ₪2 million. A meeting at the Justice Ministry agreed to raise it to ₪9 million and widen the group of protected businesses. MK Rotman and the business lobby asked for ₪20 million, and the Federation of Chambers of Commerce wanted tens of millions. The Commission for Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities and disability groups asked for a lower figure, arguing that small businesses are often the ones breaking accessibility rules. The committee's legal adviser argued that even a small business can harm the privacy of hundreds of thousands of people.
The wording stayed at ₪9 million. By the estimate presented, that threshold takes about 660,000 businesses out of the law's reach, at least 93% of Israeli businesses, licensed dealers (osek murshe) among them. The exemption covers class actions only. A customer can still bring an individual claim against such a business.
The bill combines the Justice Ministry's draft with a private bill from MKs Yonatan Mishraki and Sasson Guetta. Most of the ministry's wider class action reform is not moving at the moment. Only the small-business part was brought to a vote.
Sixty days to fix a breach
The second part of the amendment is a prior-notice requirement. For a defined set of violations, anyone planning a class action has to approach the business first and give it a chance to fix the problem. A motion to certify the class action can be filed only 60 days after that notice. A motion filed without it will be struck out by the court.
The list covers not deducting packaging weight, sending advertising without consent, product labelling, unit pricing, and some accessibility rules in customer service. According to one report on the wording, the notice requirement applies to businesses with turnover up to ₪50 million. A business between ₪9 million and ₪50 million stays exposed to class actions, and gets a window to correct the breach before a suit goes ahead.
Until the plenum votes
None of this applies yet. A business that receives a warning letter or a certification motion this week faces it under the current law, with no turnover threshold to shelter behind.
Two violations on the prior-notice list touch almost every small business. The first is marketing messages. Every promotional text or email needs the recipient's documented consent, a clear way to opt out, and a label saying it is an advertisement. The second is the accessibility statement on a website. A business site that is required to publish one and has not done so is exposed to a suit today.
Where the threshold stops helping
The definition rests on turnover in the year before the suit is filed. A growing business that crosses ₪9 million loses the protection the following year. It pays to know in advance which side of the line the business sits on, and to keep the VAT returns that show the turnover. If the law passes, those are the documents that prove to a court the business is small.