Elimelech Stern, a 22-year-old Chassidish resident of Beit Shemesh, was sentenced Thursday morning by the Jerusalem District Court to three years in prison after he was convicted two months ago of maintaining contact with a foreign agent and carrying out missions for them in exchange for cryptocurrency payments.
The days Stern has already spent in custody will be deducted from his sentence. In addition, he was given a one-year suspended sentence and a fine of 10,000 shekels.
Stern is the first of those involved in the Iranian espionage affairs to be sentenced outside a plea bargain.
Judge Miriam Lomp wrote in the verdict: “His actions were not at the highest level of severity. This was a normal individual who found himself in a personal and financial crisis. I took his circumstances into account, as well as the fact that he had been a very positive figure in the community. On the other hand, these offenses were committed during wartime and are part of a very widespread phenomenon. That is why I set the punishment as I did—the bottom line is that it’s heartbreaking that such an avreich fell from such a high place to a deep pit.”
She further wrote: “The prosecution also submitted an expert opinion showing the scope and danger of this phenomenon. There are dozens of people and dozens of indictments involving similar activity connected to Iran. The difference is that he didn’t know his handler was from Iran. He willfully ignored the fact that he was dealing with a foreign agent, and therefore, his level of culpability is lower than that of other defendants.”
According to reports, Stern carried out the missions due to his financial pressures and not for ideological reasons.
Despite the large number of similar cases, Stern is the first among those involved in Iranian espionage operations to be sentenced without a plea bargain.
The prosecutors, who sought a seven-year prison sentence, noted that since Stern’s indictment, more than 30 additional indictments have been filed for similar offenses, describing Iran’s expanding efforts to recruit and operate agents within Israel across all sectors of society. Prosecutors argued that the growing number of incidents demonstrates insufficient deterrence and that harsher punishment is required to counter the threat.
(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
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16 Responses
somehow, “he just did it for the money” doesn’t make his treason any less harmful.
כל שאינו מלמד את בנו אומנות מלמדו ליסטות
Lashon Hara is a d’oraisa: לֹא-תֵלֵךְ רָכִיל בְּעַמֶּיךָ
No need for his name to be printed – he has family!
A woman is unqualified to be a judge. (As per Hashem.)
Joseph Goebbels,
You’re so right, she showed mercy by writing, “His actions were not at the highest level of severity. This was a normal individual who found himself in a personal and financial crisis”, then sentencing him to only three years in prison. A male judge would have properly sentenced this filthy traitor to life in prison for wartime treason.
You should be deported and jailed in Germany for being a Nazi anti-Semite, just like your close relative was. You’re not even Jewish!
This really seems like loshon hara. I clicked on this article thinking ‘they’re not gonna print his name, it’s okay to read this’ and was in for a surprise – I really love YWN and want to keep clicking on articles – please make it free of loshon hara! I want to keep coming to this site!
Well deserved sentence. I’m certain that we’ll be hearing complaints if he doesn’t receive mehadrin meals. He should have been mehudar in לא תעמד על דם רעך.
ujm, what about Devorah?
You can come up with all fancy words but what about לשון הרע and אל תדין את חבירך עד שתגיע למקומו ??? even a not Charedi judge was more understanding than many here, what a chilul hashem.
Anyone who knows this person and his family personally would never ever make such disgusting comments. This isn’t saying that it wasn’t a grave mistake, but what if it were your distressed relative
AND TO YWN WHY ON EARTH DO YOU PUT HIS NAME?????????????? AND ITS NOT THE FIRST TIME.
WHEN IT’S A CHILONI YOU DIDN’T PUT THE NAME.
“”לשון הרע” “לשון הרע” “לשון הרע” “לשון הרע” “לשון הרע” “לשון הרע” “לשון הרע” “לשון הרע” “לשון הרע”
avreich means av bechochmah, rach be’shanim. he may have been rach be’shanim, but certainly NOT av bechochmah.
Instead of throwing out “loshon hora” nonsense which in and of itself is an aveira of Loshon Hora about a reputable newspaper called YWN, you should look up the actual Halacha
1️⃣ Starting point — Chafetz Chaim’s rule
The Chafetz Chaim (especially Klal 4 and Klal 10) establishes:
Speaking negatively about a Jew — even if true — is Lashon Hara unless it meets the criteria of:
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Copyright © 2025 | The Yeshiva World. All rights reserved. Powered by Kornerstone Media👉 לשון הרע לתועלת (Lashon Hara for a constructive purpose / to’eles).
He lists conditions (summarized):
1. You verified the facts.
2. No exaggeration.
3. Proper intent (not hatred or gossip).
4. Constructive purpose exists.
5. No alternative way to achieve that purpose.
6. Only necessary details shared.
7. Harm caused is proportional and justified.
2️⃣ Applying those cond
in).
• Sentenced by court.
• Espionage for an enemy state.
• Wartime / national security context.
• Public court record.
3️⃣ Constructive purpose (To’eles)
Here, multiple to’eles factors exist:
A. Public safety
Espionage endangers lives (פיקוח נפש dimension).
B. Deterrence
Publicizing consequences discourages others.
C. Awareness
Communities may need to know recruitment risks.
D. Justice transparency
Public trust in enforcement.
Under Chafetz Chaim rules, when danger to others exists, disclosure is often permitted — sometimes required.
He explicitly allows warning the public about harmful individuals.
⸻
4️⃣ Convicted vs. accused
This is critical.
Status Halachic treatment
Accused / suspected Usually forbidden to publicize
Convicted / proven Much more leniency
Since this individual was convicted and sentenced, the information is considered established fact — not rumor.
5️⃣ Publishing the NAME
According to the Chafetz Chaim’s criteria:
Permitted if necessary for the to’eles.
In espionage cases, poskim often consider naming justified because:
• It strengthens deterrence.
•
It prevents network harm.
• It is already public record.
But in security crimes, contemporary poskim allow naming.
7️⃣ Contemporary poskim approach
While individual rulings vary, general trends:
Security / terror / espionage cases
Widely treated as:
• Public danger
• National security threat
• Pikuach nefesh category
Therefore, reporting convictions is allowed.
Media publication
Permitted when:
• Factual
• Non-exaggerated
• Public-interest driven
⸻
8️⃣ Mosser / national security angle
Some poskim analogize espionage to mesirah or aiding enemies.
In such severe public-harm categories, exposing wrongdoing is more clearly justified.
⸻
Final halachic bottom line
According to the Chafetz Chaim framework + contemporary poskim:
Reporting the conviction itself
➡️ Permitted (Lashon Hara le’to’eles)
Because of public safety, deterrence, and established guilt.
Publishing his name
➡️ permitted since it serves the constructive purpose
(Commonly accepted in security cases.)
i am unfamiliar with the specifics of this case, but usually these “big security breaches” consists of painting bloody hands and writing nasty things about Netanyahu.
Chill pill.
Supreme AI:
Is there a Toeles or deterrence of any kind in publishing the name of the convict on an English website that primarily caters to Chutz La’aretz? [Sounds like a rather lame toeles.]
Is there any such Heter to do so to someone convicted by ‘Arkaos’? [As opposed to a Beis Din where there is at THEIR discretion.]
Does this person present any danger going forward that the tzibbur needs to be aware of? [Which would be the case for abusers etc., but definitely not for this fellow who we can be sure will never do this again.]
Did this person actually do anything that would brand him a bona-fide Mosser? [He didn’t have access to anything remotely resembling classified information. As opposed to the IDF general who gambled online using information from a General Staff meeting and could have really endangered lives…]
It also may very well be possible that what Iran is actually looking to accomplish with recruiting these petty ‘agents’ who don’t actually do anything meaningful and always get caught, is simply to spread fear and mistrust in Israeli society. Something which is aided and abetted by making lots of noise about every such story. So, think for a second. Does this article and others like it actually HELP IRAN get what they want?
Most importantly, you forgot that EVEN when saying Lashon Hara l’toeles, it is ASSUR to ALSO have ANY ulterior motive. Since everyone knows that the only real reason YWN included the name is to make the story ‘juicier’ and more click-worthy [and hence more profit i.e. 100% שלא לשמה], the Heter of Toeles doesn’t get started…
Supreme AI:
As part of your justification you wrote quote:
3️⃣ Constructive purpose (To’eles)
Here, multiple to’eles factors exist:
A. Public safety
Espionage endangers lives (פיקוח נפש dimension).
So i just thought it might be a to’eles to teach you some basics:
Espionage meaning:
The practice of spying or of using spies, typically by governments to obtain political and military information.
So your base justification is debunked because there was no espionage, and implying so and even worse when you officially say there was espionage here is not only לשון הרע but also הוצאת שם רע.
If it’s true — mentioning one’s name might further prevent others from repeating this — possibly!
Why do our communities always claiming victim and asking for leniency and understanding when a criminal activity took place?
Please explain…
YWN — please don’t delete as you actually started the conversation