Definition of a volunteer

A person who acts voluntarily, without remuneration (room and board expenses, which are paid to a volunteer and are connected with implementation of the voluntary actions, are not considered remuneration) for the benefit of others, subject to a prior referral from a public entity that is authorized to refer volunteers, and the fact that the volunteer work was performed for national or public benefit.

Please note that the volunteer-referring body needs to fill out on your behalf a "volunteer referral form" before the start of volunteering and you are advised to keep a copy of it.

Please note that any volunteering action performed during the war and aiming to assist the families and the wounded, as well as the security and rescue forces, meets the definition of "goals involving a national or public interest".

Here is a list of other categories of volunteers:

• A person who fulfills a security obligation mandated by law, without remuneration, including drills, patrols, guarding and any other action required to implement the security, which is not performed during his service under the Defense Service Law.
• A person who extends assistance to others in accordance with his obligation under law. Extending assistance to injured people (including transporting them to obtain medical treatment, assisting a police officer in fulfillment of his duties and assisting a public servant during a natural disaster are considered obligations under law.
• A person who performs “public work” or a “service to the public” under the Penal Law. This includes a person whose imprisonment has been commuted by the court to public service, or a person who was convicted by a court and ordered to perform a community service.
• A person who, voluntarily and without pay, performed an action to save the life or property of another person, in circumstances in which it is reasonable to assume that there was a real and immediate threat to the life or property of the other person, and according to the rules set forth in the regulations. Under certain circumstances, a search for missing persons is considered a lifesaving action.
• A volunteer member, without pay, of Magen David Adom in Israel.
• A volunteer member, without pay, in an organization that provides first aid, an organization that prevents bodily harm or property damage, or an organization that cares for the sick or people who are not capable of caring for themselves, or a volunteer member, without pay, of an organization that takes care of burials, provided that the Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor has approved the organization in a notice published in the Official Gazette. For these purposes, the following entities have been approved: Yael; the General Committee for the Yemenite Community in Israel; Hevra Kadisha Ichud in Tel Aviv; Hevra Kadisha, Jerusalem Religious Council; the Fast Israeli Rescue and Search Team;  Kiryat Gat Religious Council; Religious Council of ZAKA - Identification, Extraction and Rescue - True Kindness .
• A volunteer firefighter, as defined in the Firefighting Services Law. This is a person who has agreed to undertake a function in a firefighting unit without remuneration, under conditions specified in the regulations, and a person who was recruited to extinguish a fire under the Firefighting Services Law.
• Those performing civil service, as defined in the Service Deferment for Yeshiva Students Law.
• Those performing national-civil service.
• Those who volunteer for national service or community volunteering.
• Those who volunteer outside of Israel will be recognized under specific conditions.