The 105 hotline

The 105 hotline is a unique national call center that accepts queries and reports from the public and provides professional responses to harm, violence, and crime aimed at children and adolescents in cyberspace. The hotline is staffed by police officers who have undergone training dedicated to the topics under the Bureau's purview and also an inter-ministerial partnership desk staffed by experts in online harm to children from the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services and Ministry of Justice. The hotline is part of the 105 police unit that belongs to Lahav 433. 

The partnership desk is charged with providing an integrated, inter-ministerial response to incidents and coordinating the continued treatment of the minor within their community. This professional hotline is one-of-a-kind in Israel and the world, consisting of representatives of several government ministries and the Israel Police working together to provide optimal and comprehensive handling of the broad field of online harm to children and adolescents. The hotline provides complementary inter-ministerial response to criminal incidents and, at the same time, also responds to harm and incidents that do not meet the criminal threshold, which were left without any response until the hotline was established.

The hotline may be reached by any telephone at any time of day or night by calling 105.

The Topics the 105 Hotline Addresses

Children, adolescents, parents, and professionals, as well as the public at large, can call the hotline about any harm to minors in cyberspace, including:

• Reporting criminal acts done online: extortion, threats, impersonations, gambling, fraud, and more;
• Reporting online emergencies, distress and suicidal thoughts;
• Online sexual abuse: prostitution, obscene acts, rape or attempted rape, sexual harassment, and more;
• Cybercrime;
• Cyberbullying: shaming, exclusion, ostracism;
• Help in removing abusive, offensive, and harmful contents;
• Consulting and providing information about safe internet surfing and harm to minors (aged 0-18).

Please note: If you think someone’s life may be in danger, immediately call the Israel Police emergency number – 100.

Responding to reports

A specialized team handles every call with utmost professionalism and discretion. During the conversation, the caller is asked a few background questions so the hotline staff will be better able to understand the problem and determine the best solution. After an initial identification of the caller’s needs and based on the problem’s urgency, a decision is made on how to proceed. Most calls are forwarded to the partnership desk for a complementary response to ensure that the call receives comprehensive handling.

While we cannot always provide a legal response to calls, we are always there for callers and always try to help as much as possible.

The Partnership Desk at the 105 Hotline

The Ministry of Public Security at the Hotline

The Ministry if Public Security integrates the work of the partnership desk. A ministry representative works with the hotline’s commanders and the shift officers, channels hotline calls to the relevant ministries at the desk, and coordinates inter-ministerial cooperation.

The Ministry of Education at the Hotline

The hotline’s partnership desk is staffed by representatives from the ministry’s psychology and counseling service who are experts in interventions in complex situations and incidents of online harm to children and adolescents. They keep the hotline connected to the school system and the community. Many incidents reported to the hotline require long-term, continuous follow-up in the community, and especially within the schools.

Ministry of Education representatives at the hotline track the incidents as they are handled by various personnel in the school system to make sure that the handling is optimal.

The Ministry of Education handles cases of online abuse based on various director-general circulars, including the circular “An Optimal Educational Climate and the Schools’ Treatment of Violence and Risk.” This circular includes a chapter relating comprehensively to use of technology and aspects of abuse through technological means (Section 3.3, p. 59 [Hebrew]). The circular instructs teachers and school counselors on how to handle cases of abuse reported to them, even if these occur outside of school property and after school hours.

The Ministry of Social Affairs at the Hotline

The hotline’s partnership desk is staffed by child protection social workers  who connect the hotline with the gamut of welfare and aid agencies. The social workers provide professional advice, answers, and follow-up in cases where there is reason to believe online abuse is being aimed at a minor. If necessary, Ministry of Social Affairs representatives will make sure to provide the minor who places a call with protection.

At the same time, the youth social workers work with the victim’s family and, when needed, refer the child and the child’s family for treatment at dedicated centers or at services the Ministry of Social Affairs provides. In cases where reporting is not legally mandated, and depending on the parents’ wishes, the family may be referred to the Social Services Division for treatment. In cases where reporting is legally mandated, the youth social workers at the hotline’s partnership desk will involve the social services within the local government that has legal jurisdiction for follow-up and further help.

The Ministry of Health at the Hotline

The hotline’s partnership desk is permanently staffed by representatives of the Ministry of Health who connect the hotline with the entirety of the healthcare system, including the national health insurance organizations (the so-called Kupot Holim), district psychiatrists, and the various Ministry of Health divisions. The Ministry of Health personnel at the Bureau are part of the Suicide Prevention Unit and play a central part in responding to suicidal events and online threats of suicide that are reported to the hotline.

The representatives at the partnership desk help with identifying at-risk children and adolescents, supporting minors’ physical and emotional treatment within the community, and building appropriate treatment plans. 

In addition, they serve as the professional party in providing relevant information on suicidal thought and suicide prevention and providing support for suicidal children and adolescents, helping people handle suicidal messages in social media, and formulating responses to calls about children in distress and identifying warning signs.

The Ministry of Justice – State's Attorney

The hotline contacts the cyber division at the State's Attorney's office as needed and redirects some of the reports where there is reason to believe a crime has been committed via online posting. In such cases, the cyber division examines the possibility of reducing access to the content or removing it from the internet based on legal criteria determined in the division’s working procedures. Response through these channels can be effected by informing the posters or the service providers (Facebook, Google, YouTube, etc.) about the alleged legal violations, or when necessary by contacting the court system to apply for a court order obligating the poster or service provider to remove the content or limit access to it.

Attentive Ear - a hotline for the hard of hearing

Residents with hearing impairments can contact us via the Attentive Ear police hotline and information center.
Text to 052-2020100, send a fax 08-6525111, or email [email protected]