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An Australian citizen is barred from leaving Israel until December 31, 9999 as part of a little-known local law in relation to child support.
NewsAU reports Noam Huppert, 44, initially moved to Israel to be closer to his two young children in 2012 after his former spouse moved to the country with their then-3-month-old and 5-year-old children one year prior.
Shortly after, the children's mother brought a case in Israeli court, which issued a stay-or-exit order against Huppert based on "future debt" in child support which demanded he pay 5,000 Israeli shekels monthly until both children turn 18, totaling more than $2 million USD.
The punishment went into effect in 2013 and the analytical chemist has since been barred from leaving the country until the payments are made in full.
Huppert said he and other Australian citizens have been "persecuted by the Israeli ‘justice’ system only because they were married to Israeli women" and he aimed to speak out in order "to help other Australians who many suffer this literally life-threatening experience."
Marianne Azizi, an independent British journalist who has worked to raise awareness of the issue, told NewsAU that its "almost impossible to ascertain" the exact number of Australian men affected by the law, but estimates "hundreds" face similar situations to Huppert.