The Knesset plenum on Wednesday approved in a preliminary reading a bill compelling public sector entities to provide service by e-mail. The bill was submitted by MK Sharren Haskel (Likud).
Israelis, who are well aware they live in one of the world’s top leading pioneers in computer technology, are still required to conduct much of their transactions with public services via the fax machine. In fact, some public entities have developed apps that transmit received faxes into electronic documents, thus bypassing some 40 years of scientific advances.
The new bill proposes to determine that public entities, including public authorities, medical institution, government companies and businesses that require government certification to operate, will be required to allow the public to contact them via e-mail.
MK Haskel commented that “the fact that I need to elicit support for the law raises a chuckle. It is very sad that we still do not allow e-mail communication. 37 years after the invention of email, the start-up nation still uses the fax machine.”
“Sending documents by e-mail ensures reliable and timely delivery. The transition will enable the public to receive documents without printing, and saving paper will contribute to preserving the environment. I reached agreements with all the government ministries on this bill.”