The Jerusalem District Court on Sunday convicted Elimelech Stern, a 21-year-old yeshiva student from Beit Shemesh, of maintaining contact with a foreign agent and conspiracy to threaten officials.
The conviction comes two months after Stern, a member of the Vizhnitz Hasidic community, was indicted for carrying out tasks on behalf of Iranian operatives during the war against Hamas in Gaza, Israel’s Channel 12 reported.
While his lawyer requested the court consider a lighter sentence involving only community service, the judges stressed that Stern knowingly communicated with a representative of a hostile foreign country.
Investigators from the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and the Israel Police revealed that Stern maintained contact via Telegram with a user calling herself “Anna Elena,” who assigned him a series of missions.
In one instance, he was to place a sheep’s head at the home of Israel’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency. When Stern was unable to purchase a sheep’s head, “Anna” suggested he buy a whole sheep, according to Channel 12.
In the end, the decision was made to instead assemble a substitute package with a large doll, knife and a wreath of flowers to deliver an intimidating message.
Stern shared photos of different wreaths until “Anna” approved of one. He expressed concerns that he would be arrested if he included the knife in the package.
Stern was also instructed to hang posters in Tel Aviv featuring a bleeding palm with the slogan “Let’s stand on the right side of history.”
Stern was asked to break store and vehicle windows during demonstrations (“Anna” said it was irrelevant which political side the protest favored). She offered payments of $500 to $3,000 per window.
In some cases, Stern refused to carry out the missions, fearing arrest or that the actions would cause harm to Israel, such as burning a forest.
Stern recruited two other Israelis to assist, which they did in exchange for money. Payments were transferred to Stern in cryptocurrency.
Sentencing for Stern will be held at a later date.
