The clearest restriction is on foreign media. On 1 April 2024 the Knesset passed a law letting the government shut down a foreign channel's broadcasts if its content is judged a threat to state security, and on 5 May 2024 the cabinet used it against Al Jazeera. That day aljazeera.com and aljazeera.net were blocked through DNS on the Bezeq, Cellcom and HOT networks, according to OONI, which measures internet censorship. In December 2025 the Knesset extended the law until 31 December 2027, after the wartime state of emergency had ended, and the channel and its website remained banned. In OONI's tests from Partner's network between 8 September and 8 October 2026, aljazeera.com showed signs of blocking in 22 of 24 runs.
Other blocking goes through the courts. Under a law in force since 26 September 2017, a district court can order access to a website blocked at a state prosecutor's request, including illegal gambling sites.
Police access to communications data is governed by the 2007 Communication Data Law, known as the Big Brother law. It lets police obtain data from phone and internet companies, such as location, who you called or emailed and which websites you visited, normally with a judge's order and, in urgent cases, without one. In 2012 the High Court upheld the law but limited it to the investigation of specific crimes, not general intelligence gathering.
Israel's privacy law was overhauled in 2025. Amendment 13 to the Protection of Privacy Law took effect on 14 August 2025, bringing its definitions closer to the GDPR and giving the Privacy Protection Authority the power to impose significant fines. In January 2024 the European Commission confirmed that Israel still offers adequate protection for personal data transferred from the EU.
GhostShield has no server in Israel, so it cannot give you an Israeli IP address. The closest locations are Dubai and Milan. If you use Dubai, keep in mind that the UAE restricts internet calling apps itself, as the UAE guide explains. GhostShield uses standard WireGuard.
International Privacy Standards
Internet freedom varies significantly by country. Organizations like Freedom House track global internet freedom annually, while the EU's GDPR has set new standards for data protection worldwide. Reporters Without Borders monitors press freedom and digital access restrictions globally.
A VPN helps you maintain consistent privacy protections regardless of which country you're browsing from, ensuring your data stays encrypted and your activity stays private.
The privacy landscape in Israel
Cyberattacks are frequent. Israel's National Cyber Directorate counted about 4,800 hostile cyber incidents in June 2026, three times the roughly 1,600 of June 2025, and its director general linked the rise to Iran. Targets ranged from critical infrastructure to small and medium-sized companies, including law and accounting firms.
Online speech carries legal risk. Freedom House's 2026 report says Israelis continued to face arrests and interrogations over social media posts, for alleged offences such as incitement to terrorism. A VPN hides your connection, not what you post under your own name.
Credential theft and phishing are among the main tools in these attacks. A VPN encrypts your connection, but it does not stop a convincing fake login page, so treat unexpected links and login requests with care.
Top reasons people use a VPN in Israel
A VPN connected to a server outside Israel reaches news sites that are blocked locally, such as Al Jazeera's. It also keeps the sites you visit away from your provider, which the police can ask for communications data.
On public Wi-Fi in cafes, hotels and airports, the tunnel keeps your logins private from the network.
Israelis abroad cannot get an Israeli address from GhostShield, so services that play only inside Israel stay out of reach. For other countries' services, GhostShield offers 20 locations in 16 countries.