Supreme Court Allows Remote Testimony When Security Fears Block Travel

Israel’s Supreme Court has ruled that civil courts may hear overseas witnesses by video when they refuse to travel to Israel because of the security situation or official travel warnings. The judgment says litigants should not have to choose between abandoning relevant testimony and waiting indefinitely for witnesses to appear in person. The court retained in-person testimony as the preferred format while recognizing that evidence rules must adapt when security risks prevent travel. The ruling gives trial courts a way to keep civil cases moving without dispensing with live questioning.