The Israel Internet Association (ISOC-IL) that manages and operates Israel’s Latin country code Top Level Domain (“.IL ccTLD”), will soon invite the public to register domain names in Hebrew under the country’s new ccTLD – “ישראל.”.
These domain names will be written in Hebrew only letters, using the following format: “שםהמתחםשלי.ישראל”.
ISOC-IL grants holders of a Hebrew domain names under “.il” TLD (net.il, co.il, org.il) a time-limited right of first refusal to register the same domain name under the “ישראל.” TLD. This right (the Protected Registration Period) is valid for three months, from the date of opening registration of “ישראל.” TLD opens to the public. Below are the updated dates:
- Registration of “ישראל.” TLD opens to the public – 22/11/2022 at 12:00 PM. (New date after a postponement)
- Protected Registration Period – from 22/11/2022 at 12:00 PM until 22/02/2023 at 12:00
- 2nd Protected Registration Period – from 23/02/2022 at 12:00 PM until 23/04/2023 at 12:00
- 3rd Protected Registration Period – from 24/04/2022 at 12:00 PM until 25/06/2023 at 12:00
We already contacted the parties via the email address listed on the relevant domain name contact details, informing them of their rights. Note that such registration involves a fee, and each registrar has its own rate.
ISOC-IL has decided to grant the right of first refusal to holders who registered the “.il” Hebrew domain name first, following ISOC-IL’s current “first come, first served” registration policy.
The right to register the Hebrew “ישראל.” TLD domain name is non-transferable and is granted only to the registered holder of the domain name at the date of delivery of the notices to the holders (April 10, 2022). If holder will transfer the domain name to any third party after that date, this third party will not be eligible to the right.
Domain names that will not be registered during the Protected Registration Periods become available to another prior right-holder or the public, as explained in detail in the Sunrise guidelines .
ISOC-IL may not grant this right if it conflicts with another domain name holder’s right or registration rules:
- Prohibited Domain Names – Words or phrases which ISOC-IL does not allow to register as Hebrew Domain Names in the New Registry (such as “ישראל”) as explained in detail in the Sunrise guideline and Section 7 of the “ישראל.” ccTLD registration rules.
Holders of a “.il” Hebrew domain name that was defined as a prohibited Domain Names under the “ישראל.” TLD will not be able to register it. Existing “.il” Hebrew domain names will remain as they are. - Conflicting rights – “.il” TLD domain names are registered at the third level, allowing different parties to register the same domain with a different suffix (.co.il, org.il, net.il, etc.). For example, “co.il.שםהמתחםשלי” and “org.il.שםהמתחםשלי”. However, since “ישראל.” TLD domain names are only registered at the second level, it’s impossible to grant two parties the right to register the same “ישראל.” domain name.
Let’s imagine that Michal has been the holder of “co.il.שםהמתחםשלי” since April 3, 2020, while David has been the holder of “org.il.שםהמתחםשלי” since May 3, 2020. One would argue that both are eligible for “שםהמתחםשלי.ישראל”, but that’s impossible.
To resolve the issue, ISOC-IL has decided to grant the right of first refusal to holders who registered the “.il” Hebrew domain name first, following our current “first come, first served” registration policy.
Therefore, in our example above, Michal will have the right of first refusal to register “שםהמתחםשלי.ישראל” during the Protected Registration Period.
If she opts out, the right will pass to David, who could register the “ישראל.” TLD domain name during the second Protected Registration Period.
If both eligible parties didn’t exercise their right during the first and second Protected Registration Period, it expires and transfers to the next qualified party or the public.
It’s not mandatory to register the parallel Hebrew domain name under the “ישראל.” TLD. Existing “.il” Hebrew domain names will remain as they are, following “.IL” registration rules, regardless of whether holders exercise their right or not.