Burial Expenses

Burial expenses are paid to cover the costs of burial and related services, for every person who dies in Israel and is buried in Israel, and for every  Israeli resident  who dies outside of Israel.

A person whose life is centered in Israel. Among the criteria for determining residence in this context: permanent place of residence, place at which the family is staying, place of the children's education, main place of work, place of learning.

The Hevra Kadisha (Burial Society), which is obligated to handle the burial of the deceased without payment, is the one that operates within the boundaries of the local authority in which the deceased person resided or the one that operates within the boundaries of the local authority in which he died (there are Hevrot Kadisha that handle several local authorities).

The burial services that the Hevra Kadisha is obligated provide free of charge are:

The National Insurance Institute pays for the gravestone of a lone deceased person who has no parent, spouse, son or daughter in Israel. The Hevra Kadisha that handled the burial erects the gravestone 12 months after the date of burial.

 The National Insurance Institute does not refund payment to a relative of the deceased who erected a gravestone.

Death grant - Paid if the deceased received one of the following benefits: old age, survivors, general disability, income support or work injury.

Survivors’ benefits - Paid to the survivors of the deceased if the deceased was a resident of Israel at the time of his death, completed a qualifying period and paid National Insurance contributions as prescribed by law.

 The burial services for which the Hevra Kadisha is entitled to charge are:

Family members who wish to bury the deceased in a cemetery defined by the National Insurance Institute as a "closed cemetery" must pay for the burial plot themselves.

See here list of closed cemeteries, according to locality (in Hebrew only).