Israel operates import prohibitions for reasons of human health, public morals, environment, and security.  It is a signatory to the Basel Convention on Hazardous Wastes, the Montreal Protocol, and CITES.  The importation of 17 products or groups of products is prohibited (Table I).  The prohibitions apply equally to all trading partners.  The legal basis for Israel's import prohibitions is the Appendix of the 2005 Customs Order and the 2006 Free Import Order. In addition, since December 1994, Israel has maintained a ban on imports of non-kosher meat and meat products.  However, the Government permits limited domestic production, sale, and consumption of non-kosher meat. 

 

Table I

Import prohibitions

	Items subject to import prohibition	Reason for prohibition
1.	Wine, spirits products and grape juice, whether it is called by a geographical name which is not its place of origin or by a name which incorporates such a geographical name or which may give the impression that it incorporates such a geographical name (22)	Protection of human health
2.	Matches made from white or yellow phosphorus (36.05)	Environment protection
3.	Licentious or indecent films (37.06)	Public morals
4.	Currency notes, bank notes or coins which are legal tender in any country or which have been at some time legal tender in any country, whether counterfeit or imitation (49.07, 71.18, 97.04)	Public morals
5.	Tickets or publicity items for lottery or gambling (49.11)	Public morals
6.	Sales invoice form that is a form or other paper which purports to be a form which it is possible to fill in blank spaces so as to use it as a sales invoice for goods from foreign countries (48.20, 49.11)	Public morals
7.	Used bags for packaging vegetable material (63.05)	Protection of human health
8.	Knives, cutlasses, spears, and swords having a serrated point or sharp blade, except for knives which are of a kind for professional work or domestic use (82.11, 93.07)	Protection of human life
9.	Disruptive instruments of laser speed measuring meters	Public safety
10.	Firearms resembling a pen, starting pistols, items activated by gas, etc. (93.03)	Security
11.	Nerve gas container resembling a gun (93.04)	Security
12.	Games of chance or part of them as defined in the Penal Code (95.04)	Public morals
13.	Goods of all types which carry a false commercial description as defined in the Consumer Protection Law of 1981	Public morals
14.	Postal packages containing live creatures such as vipers, explosives, inflammable materials and other dangerous packages	Protection of human health
15.	Used equipment for bee farming	Protection of human health
16.	Goods of the kind which are used as tools for preparing or consuming dangerous drugs as defined in the Dangerous Drug Order (1973).	Protection of human health
17.	Goods that can be used to incite violence, terror, or racism as defined in Chapter H of the Penal Code	Security

 

Note:    The corresponding HS code is provided in parenthesis.