Today (May 19), ICANN, (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), announced the successful completion of String Evaluation of the proposed Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) country code top-level domain (ccTLD) string for Israel.
ICANN has approved the request of ISOC-IL to assign ” .ישראל” as the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) in Hebrew, and In a few months, once ISOC-IL completes the administrative-technological process together with IANA (ICANN’s executive body), internet users will be able to type complete Hebrew script addresses of websites and services, from right to left, with the extension ” .ישראל”
ISOC-IL submitted the application with the support of the Ministry of Communications and civil society bodies, including The Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce, The Israeli Chamber of Information Technology, the Israel Press Council, and the Inter-University Computation Center. Per ICANN’s request, the Academy of the Hebrew Language has confirmed the application adheres to the rules of the Hebrew language.
“Assigning ” .ישראל”as the Hebrew ccTLD, and the option to register domain names under this extension, will offer the internet community in Israel a new dimension of action and accessibility through the wider use of the nation’s spoken language,” said Yoram HaCohen, CEO of ISOC-IL.
“ISOC-IL has been managing the .il domain names registry for over 25 years and has done so with transparency, impartiality, and no commercial or other considerations, advocating for a stable, free, and safe internet for the Israeli public. Going further, we remain committed to the same policy with the new ” .ישראל”domain extension,” said HaCohen. He mentioned that ISOC-IL is ready to enable full Hebrew domain registration once the necessary administrative and technological arrangements have been implemented.
“I congratulate ISOC-IL for leading the process of approving the ” .ישראל”country code top-level domain and the impressive achievement represented by the successful completion of the allocation,” said Nati Cohen, Director General of the Ministry of Communications.
“Assigning the ” .ישראל” ccTLD augments the possibilities for both users and website owners throughout the Israeli cyberspace, and raises its security levels,” said Yigal Unna, Director General of the Israel National Cyber Directorate. “I congratulate ISOC-IL for successfully completing the application with ICANN. It is another significant step in ISOC-IL’s ongoing efforts to improve cybersecurity while maintaining public accountability standards.”
A domain name is the textual address of websites and online services that a user types in their browser, linking them to the IP address of the requested website through DNS (Domain Name System). Historically, the system has supported only Latin letters, but in the last decade, ICANN has been implementing non-Latin characters, including Chinese, Cyrillic, Arabic, and now Hebrew.
The .il registry currently holds about 250,000 co.il, gov.il, org.il, and ac.il. domain names. The registry is managed by Israel Internet Association, a technological nonprofit civil society body operating as an objective, impartial organization offering no preferential treatment to domain name registrars. ISOC-IL has no commercial affiliation and is classified as an Essential Computerized System under the Regulation of Security in Public Bodies Law.