Legal Aid Services Handle Over 150,000 Cases in 2025, Focus on War Victims
Israel's Legal Aid system, part of the Ministry of Justice, processed 154,552 cases in 2025, according to its annual activity report. The highest number of cases, 61,517, involved civil matters and debts, followed by family and personal status issues (54,786) and national insurance claims (10,142).
Since the October 7th attacks, the Legal Aid has opened over 3,600 cases specifically for bereaved families, families of hostages and returnees, and families of fallen soldiers. A dedicated "Swords of Iron Cases" unit, established immediately after the attacks, provides comprehensive legal assistance to these families, covering personal status, benefits from National Insurance or the Ministry of Defense, financial matters, housing, insurance rights, guardianship, and more.
The report highlights several key legal victories and ongoing cases. These include securing legal recognition for a murdered man's daughter, representing dozens of families seeking recognition as distant victims of hostilities due to digital exposure to terror events, and defending disabled IDF veterans and victims of hostilities against excessive legal fees. The service also secured protections against dismissal for bereaved family members and provided free legal aid to Holocaust survivors and fighters against Nazis, as well as to seniors who experienced financial fraud.
Further examples of the Legal Aid's work include challenging the definition of minors as 'needy' solely due to a mother's mental illness, securing NIS 10,000 in compensation for a family facing discrimination from a municipality, and obtaining significant compensation for an Ethiopian man subjected to racist remarks by a bus driver. The Supreme Court ruled that minimum wage should not be the sole basis for determining payment orders in insolvency proceedings, and a debt was canceled for a woman who was a victim of economic abuse by her ex-husband.
In a significant ruling, the National Insurance Institute was ordered to make special accommodations for sexual assault victims in medical committees, a change adopted by the Ministry of Health. The Legal Aid also successfully argued for the recognition of skin cancer as a work-related injury and secured NIS 140,000 in compensation for the family of a murder victim due to alleged negligence in the investigation. The Director-General of the Ministry of Justice, Itamar Donenfeld, praised the Legal Aid's work, particularly for war victims, and thanked outgoing head Adv. Nuchi Politis for her dedicated service.