MK Meir Porush submitted a bill to increase punishment for those convicted of contact with a foreign agent on behalf of the Iranian state. The bill is based on the legal principle established by the Legal Advisor to the Government, according to which the denial of economic and civil benefits is "effective enforcement" to combat undesirable social phenomena.
The bill includes the denial of scholarships for students, income tax credits, National Insurance benefits, discounted housing, state participation in the cost of daycare tuition, eligibility for discounts on public transportation, eligibility for financial assistance for purchasing an apartment, and more.
The explanatory notes to the bill mention that the Legal Advisor to the Prime Minister submitted to the Supreme Court "a long list of "personal enforcement measures" against Torah students, based on the assumption that denying property tax discounts or subsidies for daycare is an appropriate and proportionate way to exert pressure on citizens and discourage them from committing certain acts.".
""If the legal advice to the government believes that withholding daycare subsidies from infants is a legitimate enforcement tool, then all the more so should these sanctions be applied to those who intentionally act to harm the country and maintain contact with a foreign agent of Iran.".
""The State of Israel must exercise an economic "iron hand" that includes, for example, the denial of discounts on bus travel, the cancellation of entitlement to discounted housing, and the prevention of study scholarships for those caught contacting the Iranian enemy, so that they do not continue to enjoy these civil benefits," the bill states.
MK Meir Porush: "I am certain that the legal counsel to the government will support the bill and assist in its rapid advancement to final approval. It is clear that the authorities responsible for law enforcement are interested in curbing the serious phenomenon of espionage for Iran, no less than the obsessive desire to persecute Torah scholars.".
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