Knesset members from both the coalition and opposition agreed Wednesday that Israel’s defamation law needs improvement after an immigration clerk committed suicide over online criticism of his alleged racism.

“This happened because of a post on social media, but it could have happened from something in the newspapers as well,” Tourism Minister Yariv Levin told the Knesset. “In Israel, a person is guilty until proven innocent, and this isn’t right for a democratic country. It’s no secret that legislation in Israel lags technology.”

Last week Ariel Runis, a clerk at the Population and Immigration Authority, killed himself shortly after addressing allegations that he had behaved in a racist way toward a black woman client. He used Facebook, the same place where he was lambasted.

“The defamation law needs fundamental changes, but every time such a move is discussed, it is portrayed as an attempt to curb the media,” Levin said.

As he put it, “Freedom of expression must not become the freedom to degrade .... We must draw a line and allow people the tools to defend their names. I truly hope that the populism that has gone hand in hand with this issue will not continue .... The issue requires the courage to refrain from blindly following the populist stance on freedom of expression.”

He called the case a warning sign; “it reflects a serious problem that goes beyond social media. It’s a problem with a dialogue that is often very violent.”

Opposition MKs tended to agree. MK Michal Rozin (Meretz) said Israel should ensure that it finds “the balance between freedom of expression and the prohibition on incitement.”

“The shaming phenomenon has become more and more prevalent,” she said. “There is a lack of legislation and supervision; there is nowhere to turn, no one to complain too.”

MK Eitan Cabel (Zionist Union) said the Knesset had never seriously addressed the issue.

“The Internet will always be two steps ahead of us; it’s a new and cruel world,” he said. “It’s a tool for which rules and restraint must be created. Cruelty on the web is merciless because people don’t have to come face to face with each other.”

As MK Revital Swid (Zionist Union) put it, “Freedom of expression is not the freedom to incite — we’ve reached a point at which criticism is voiced in a way that is bullying and harmful .... It’s true the legislature will always be behind the emerging realities, but we mustn’t wait for a tragedy like this one.”

Among government Knesset members, MK Yakov Margi (Shas) said there were no “limits or restraints” on freedom of expression at the moment.

“Are we willing to allow the freedom to incite at the expense of freedom of expression? Anyone who spends any time on the Internet is aware of the level of discussion there,” he said. “The Internet is completely wild. Limits must be set on Internet discourse; we cannot allow ourselves to accept this victim.”