Disputes between neighbors are common. In some cases, however, such disputes escalate into conduct that infringes upon another person’s peace of mind, privacy, liberty, or even physical safety.
Threatening harassment occurs when one person harasses or threatens another in any manner under circumstances that provide reasonable grounds to believe that the harasser may continue to interfere with the victim’s peace of mind, privacy, or personal liberty, or may even cause physical harm.
A wide range of conduct may constitute threatening harassment, including verbal abuse, intimidating physical proximity, repeated text messages, WhatsApp messages or emails, playing music or songs intended to harass, neighborhood shaming campaigns, posting defamatory notices, blocking access to property, and virtually any other form of intimidating or harassing behavior.
What Should You Do If You Are Being Threateningly Harassed?
Threatening harassment is addressed under several Israeli statutes, including:
Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, 1992
Protection of Privacy Law, 1981
Defamation Prohibition Law, 1965
Penal Law, 1977
Prevention of Domestic Violence Law, 1991
Prevention of Threatening Harassment Law, 2001
Under the Prevention of Threatening Harassment Law, 2001, the court may issue a Prevention of Threatening Harassment Order, imposing various restrictions and prohibitions on the harasser. If the harasser violates the order, the victim may file a complaint with the Israel Police, which is then obligated to take enforcement action.
In addition to obtaining a Prevention of Threatening Harassment Order, the victim may pursue both civil and criminal legal proceedings under the other applicable statutes, depending on the specific facts of the case.
For example, if the harasser publicly humiliates or defames the victim in the presence of others, the victim may initiate both civil and criminal proceedings under the Defamation Prohibition Law, in addition to seeking a Prevention of Threatening Harassment Order.
