Jerusalem, 5 February, 2026 (TPS-IL) — The Jerusalem District Court on Thursday sentenced Elimelech Stern, 22, a resident of Beit Shemesh, to three years in prison after finding him guilty of contacting a foreign agent and conspiring to issue Threats on behalf of Iranian operatives. The ruling is viewed as a benchmark for sentencing in future espionage cases.
According to court documents, Stern, a former yeshiva student, communicated via the Telegram messaging app with a profile known as “Anna Elena,” which prosecutors said was operated by Iranian intelligence. Under her guidance, Stern carried out a series of tasks inside Israel in exchange for payment in cryptocurrency. These included posting threatening messages, delivering packages with symbolic items, transferring money, and recruiting other citizens to assist him.
Among the most disturbing instructions, Stern was asked to send a gift-wrapped sheep’s head, flowers, and a knife to the home of Israel’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency. When he failed to procure a sheep’s head, he was directed to purchase a doll’s head and include a knife. Court filings show Stern hesitated, telling the handler he feared imprisonment. He also refused other high-risk tasks, including arson.
In addition, Stern reportedly arranged for advertisements to be posted in public spaces depicting a bloodied hand with the English-language caption: “It will be written in history that children were killed, let’s stand on the right side of history.” He recruited two other Israelis to execute some of the assignments, such as moving cash and delivering packages, in return for payments in digital currencies.
Prosecutors said Stern was offered further instructions, including breaking car windows and setting vehicles on fire during demonstrations, with compensation ranging from $500 per window to $3,000 per vehicle. They argued the offenses were particularly serious because they occurred during Wartime and involved collaboration with a hostile foreign state. “This is a hostile activity that creates a real danger in residential neighborhoods, in the public space, and in the daily lives of innocent citizens,” the prosecutor’s office said. “It is not enough to expose these cases; deterrence requires severe punishment.”
Stern maintained that he did not know “Anna Elena” was a foreign agent and alleged that his rights were violated during the investigation, seeking to disqualify his confessions. Prosecutors countered that Stern acted with full awareness of his rights and voluntarily confessed to the offenses.
Stern will also serve one year of probation, with time already spent in detention deducted from his sentence.
He is the first person convicted of spying for Iran in Israel since the outbreak of the current conflict to be sentenced without a plea agreement. More than 35 additional cases, involving 57 defendants accused of acting on behalf of Iran, are currently pending in Israeli courts. The decision is widely expected to set a precedent for how future espionage cases are sentenced.
“When we are dealing with the offense for which the defendant was convicted, numerous deterrence considerations are of utmost importance,” the judgment said, “given the significance of protecting state security and the enormous potential damage inherent in these offenses.”
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