Search by Practice
Insights & News / Irit Brodsky
Barnea: Advising Tel Aviv University’s Student Exchange Program
Eyal Nachshon and Irit Brodsky, together with our firm’s administrative staff, is helping to guide Tel Aviv University’s student exchange program. As part of the program, the team met with Prof. Yishai Blank, the Dean of Tel Aviv University’s Faculty of Law.
Monopoly: Meta to Pay ILS 25 Million for Failing to Report Mergers
Competition Law in Times of War: Globes Interview with Irit Brodsky
Michal Cohen, the Director General of the Israel Competition Authority, issued a special statement, emphasizing the prohibition on companies exploiting their monopolistic position to cause consumers harm during the Israel-Hamas war. As an expert in the competition and antitrust field, Irit Brodsky was interviewed by Globes on the issue. Irit noted, “In addition to the various reliefs, during this difficult period, businesses must take care not to harm consumers as part of their survival efforts, and certainly not to exploit the situation. The Director General intends to be vigilant, especially regarding practices that exploit a company’s monopolistic position and harm consumers, and will use the enforcement measures in her power against such entities.”
Israel Competition Authority Director General Publishes Guidelines for Business Activities during State of Emergency
In light of the security situation in Israel, the Director General of the Israel Competition Authority issued several special guidelines last week to facilitate business activities during the state of emergency.
Public Companies, Financial Statements and Competition
Commercial information or intentions disclosed in public companies’ public statements might expose them to investigations or sanctions by the Israel Competition Authority. The tension between the reporting obligation and the desire to maintain a competitive market will be resolved only through clear guidelines issued by the regulatory authorities.
Competition Law: Massive Fines for Harming Parallel Imports
The amendment is part of the government’s efforts to bring down the cost of living by increasing competition in the import sector. However, the amendment also imposes considerable restrictions on direct importers.
ICA Takes Broad Enforcement Measures against Food Suppliers
As part of a series of measures to combat the cost of living, the Israel Competition Authority’s Director General is taking broad law enforcement measures for the first time against major food suppliers for violations of the Food Law. Inter alia, the Food Law prohibits food suppliers and retailers from engaging in various commercial arrangements that could prevent small suppliers or retailers from competing.
Israel: Suing Monopolies for Setting Unfairly High Prices
The regulations grant several new rights to the relevant data subjects, when the database contains information transferred from the European Economic Area (EEA) to Israel, including the data subject’s right to delete information and a broader right of review.
Stricter Review and Enforcement of Vertical Resale Price Maintenance Arrangements
The Israel Competition Authority is imposing a stricter policy against resale price maintenance arrangements, and increases enforcement in this area, to make the market more competitive.
New Israeli Restrictions on Direct Importers
The Israeli government is continuing to amend the Competition Law with the intention of curbing the cost of living. In the crosshairs are direct importers, who will be subject to strict scrutiny once the amendments are enacted.
Drastic Measures to Reduce Concentration and Increase Competition in the Israeli Food and Toiletries Market
The Israeli Ministry of Finance and the Competition Authority are pushing to introduce a plan in the annual Economic Arrangements Law that would impose significant restrictions on importers and suppliers of major brands, with the aim of reducing concentration and increasing competition in the food and toiletries market in Israel.
Israel: Foreign Company Fined for Failing to Comply with Competition Authority’s Request for Information
The Israeli Competition Authority believes its authority to issue information requests is not limited to Israeli companies, and that foreign companies with no affiliation to Israel are also subject to its authority and to fines for breach of the Competition Law.
2022: Antitrust and Competition in Israel – A Year in Review
2022 was characterized by many trends relating to competition law in Israel. Ramped up handling of monopolies, unfair pricing and restrictive trade practices, and enhanced collaboration between Israeli government ministries and the Competition Authority are just some of the trends we witnessed during 2022 in this field.
Closing a Deal – Transaction Closing in the World of Malls and Chain Stores
Terry Almozlino-Arnon, Alon Wolner, and Irit Brodsky are participating in a panel on how to successfully complete mall real estate transactions and commercial tenders. The panel is being held as part of the Israel Mall & Chain Store Conference held in Eilat.
Israeli Supreme Court: Monopolies May Be Sued for Charging Unfair Excessive Prices
Israeli district courts have already recognized the possibility of suing a monopoly for charging an unfair excessive price, but the Israeli Supreme Court’s recognition of this cause of action ends defendants’ potential arguments for opposing this very possibility.
Irit Brodsky Featured in Globes Article on Dramatic Changes to Merger Announcements
New Israel Competition Authority regulations impose a heavier reporting obligation on companies seeking to merge. These new regulations have many possible consequences, for better or worse. Firm partner Irit Brodsky discusses the changes in an in-depth article by Globes on the subject.
Significant Change in Format to Report Mergers to Competition Authority
The new format heralds a reduction in the volume of transactions that require reporting. However, it imposes a far heavier burden on parties to transactions that do require reporting, even for mergers posing no competitive concerns.
Israeli Competition Authority Taking Strict Position toward Vertical Price Maintenance Arrangements
A few days ago, the Israeli Competition Authority published for public comments draft public statement 1/22, presenting its position on vertical price maintenance arrangements. The final public statement 1/22 will replace the Competition Authority’s previous statement 2/17 published in 2018.
Dramatic Ruling on Excessive Pricing: District Court Denies Two Motions to Certify Class Actions against Tnuva
In December 2021, the Jerusalem District Court dismissed two motions to certify a class action against the leading dairy manufacturer in Israel, Tnuva, for charging excessive prices. Both the motion and the dismissal are part of an intense dispute for years. The dispute revolves around whether the prohibition of a monopolist charging an “unfair” price applies to charging excessive fees. In 2014, the director-general of the Competition Authority published a public statement on the prohibition of excessive pricing by a monopoly.
For the First Time, Israel Competition Authority Enforces Prohibition on Excessive Pricing
For the first time, the Israel Competition Authority has opened enforcement proceedings against a monopolist for abuse of its dominant position by charging an unfairly high price. Subject to a hearing, the authority intends to impose a pecuniary sanction of ILS 8 million on MBI Pharma Ltd. and personal sanctions on two officers of the company (of about ILS 600,000 each). The company faces accusations of charging an excessive price for Leadiant, a life-saving drug for CTX patients (an incurable genetic disease), which is marketed by MBI Pharma in Israel.