The Jerusalem District Court on Sunday convicted Elimelech Stern, a 22-year-old Haredi yeshiva student from Beit Shemesh, of spying on behalf of Iran.

He was found guilty of contact with a foreign agent and conspiring to make threats after he carried out several missions for an Iranian intelligence agent in exchange for money last year.

Stern is one of dozens of Israeli citizens who have been arrested and charged with spying for the Islamic Republic. He is one of the first to be convicted since most espionage cases are still working their way through the legal system.

During a series of Shin Bet interrogations following his arrest, Stern confessed to being in contact with his operator, who went by the alias Anna Elena, over Telegram. Later in court, he insisted that he had been unaware he was communicating with a foreign actor.

According to the conviction handed down by Judge Hannah Miriam Lump, Stern recruited two other Israeli citizens to help him carry out the tasks assigned to him by his handler.

At the........

© The Times of Israel