The end is nigh! The end is nigh!

No, not the end of the world. The end of the fax machine! The end is nigh!

MK Stav Shafir (Labor) has proposed a law that would hopefully put an end to the fax machine.

Not too many people have fax machines anymore. they are outdated technology. People now can generally scan or take pictures of documents, send them by email, upload to websites, share by social media or other forms of online services - there is simply no need for fax machines.

Except there is.

Government offices and banks are the two greatest offenders, still requiring communication by fax. Most people do not even own a fax machine, yet if they need to send a document or signature to the bank, it can only be sent via fax.

If Stav Shafir's proposal will be accepted, the government offices and banks would have to accept communication by email as official, and people will finally be able to get rid of the few remaining fax machines.

Shafir's law, if it passes, will obligate government offices, municipal government offices, government authorities, telephone companies, ISPs, cable and satellite television companies, banks, water authorities, and others to officially accept communication by email. The law would also let the providers communicate with the customer by email in an official capacity.

As Shafir said in support of her proposal, "It is about time service providers will move to the fast and cheap service lanes, and will allow all customers to communicate with them in whatever way they are most comfortable with. The situation today is disregard for the time of the consumer who need to go looking for a fax machine near where they live, sometimes having to pay for the service, and sometimes having to actually go to the providers offices when a fax is not available. 
It is not logical that when technology allows a person to go shopping around the world without leaving his own house, he must waste long work hours to approve his credit line in the bank. It is difficult today to find a person not connected to email, and it is even harder to find a person who is connected comfortably to a fax machine in his house. If the service providers refuse to recognize this, we will have to force the, to do so."
source: Walla News

Unlike Stav Shafir, I know plenty of people who do not have email... but most of them also do not have fax machines...  

Finally! I hope this law passes. Banks, hospitals, government offices, requiring fax machines is SUCH an inconvenience!