Israelis now can choose whether or not to accept that scary-looking lawyer’s letter from Tel Aviv, even if they still don’t know what it says inside.
The Knesset has passed a law requiring postal authorities to provide the details of the sender to a recipient of a registered letter or package before signing for the item.
The bill, sponsored by MKs Uri Maklev and Moshe Gafne, passed its second and third reading in the Knesset plenum on Wednesday.
Under the new law, the Israel Postal Authority must include information about the sender on all registered letters as well as on the notification form left at the door when a recipient is not there to take the package, or in a person’s mailbox.
Such information can allow a recipient to decide whether or not to accept the letter or package, the bill’s sponsors pointed out.
In the case of packages sent from overseas, that information can be worth money: Israel charges the recipient hefty fees for items sent from the U.S. and some other countries that are worth more than a bare minimum.
Notification slips in Israel usually are stuck on the door with an illegible scribble and a few check marks that may reveal the date the item was sent, but rarely anything else.