In internet first, Hebrew website domain names on the horizon

Hebrew is one of eight languages in the world that uses right to left script.

By Aaron Sull, World Israel News

Permission to register Hebrew web domains ending in Israel’s country code “.il” may soon be granted by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), reports The Jerusalem Post.

According to the report, the Israel Internet Association (ISOC-IL), a non-profit organization responsible for managing .il web domain names, has finalized a deal with ICANN on Tuesday to accept internet domains in Hebrew.

“Allocating the .il extension in Hebrew at the top-level domain of the Internet, and the possibility of registering domain names under this extension, will open up for Internet users in Israel a new layer of activity and access in the language spoken by the people,” said ISOC-IL director Yoram HaCohen.

Hebrew is one of eight languages in the world that uses right to left script. The others are Arabic, Aramaic, Azeri, Maldivian, Sorani, Farsi, and Urdu.

“The addition of the .il extension enriches the opportunities for surfers and website owners in the Israeli cyberspace and strengthens its level of protection,” said National Cyber Directorate director-general Yigal Unna.

“I congratulate the Israeli Internet Association for successfully completing the process with ICANN. This is another step in the significant process leading the association to continually strengthen the level of protection in the internet space, while adhering to standards of public accountability,” he said.