Mental-Health Care with an Interpreter — How to Get It

The Patient Rights Act (1996), section 3, obliges every medical institution in Israel to make sure you understand the staff and the staff understands you. In mental-health care this is critical: psychiatric diagnosis happens almost entirely through conversation, and without a shared language misdiagnoses happen. You do not need to bring a family member to translate, and you do not need to pay: you may demand a professional interpreter, free of charge, at the health fund, the mental-health clinic, and the hospital.

The Ministry of Health operates a telephone medical interpretation center (*5144) with professional interpreters in Amharic, Tigrinya, Arabic, Russian, and French. How it works: the clinician (doctor, psychologist, nurse) calls the center during your appointment, and the conversation runs three-way — you, the clinician, and the interpreter on the line. The service is completely free for the patient.

Hours (as of August 2026): Amharic, Arabic, Russian, and French — Sun–Thu 8:00–19:00, Fri 8:00–13:00. Tigrinya — Sun–Thu 8:00–16:00, Fri 8:00–13:00. Hours may change — check the official Ministry of Health page (linked below).

Important: the clinician places the call, not you. Your job is to ask — and the clinician is obliged to respond.

When booking, say: "I need an Amharic interpreter — please use the *5144 interpretation center during the appointment." You can also say it at the start of the appointment itself. It is best to also ask in writing (SMS or your health fund's app) — that leaves a record.

If the clinician refuses or "has no time": ask for the refusal in writing and approach the clinic's manager. Still no answer? Complain to the Ministry of Health "Kol HaBriut" center — *5400 (note: *5400 is the Ministry's general information and complaints line — not the interpretation center). The right to interpretation applies to appointments with a psychiatrist, psychologist, and social worker — not only your family doctor.

If you or a relative is in psychiatric hospitalization and the case is heard by a psychiatric committee — the court has ruled that a patient who does not speak Hebrew is entitled to state-funded translation of the hearing. Translation may not be imposed on your lawyer (they are there to represent, not translate). If translation is not offered — your lawyer or you may demand it from the committee. Full details on hospitalization rights — in our hospitalization rights guide.

Tene Briut — the Ethiopian-Israeli community's health organization — has operated the "Kol La'Briut" interpretation service for medical teams since 2007, at 04-6331877, 24 hours a day, all week (as of August 2026, per the organization's website). The interpreters receive dedicated medical-interpretation training and follow professional ethics. If your clinician doesn't know *5144 — you can point them to this service too. Don't confuse the names: "Kol La'Briut" (Tene Briut, interpretation) and "Kol HaBriut" (*5400, the Ministry of Health information line) are two different services.