Based on a recent conversation with a friend:
Instead of trying to reach everyone, and getting little participation, this time they decided to ask only the 700,000 people who came up in a lottery.
As for halacha, their questions don’t seem to violate the transgression of counting the Jewish people (“Errors and Omissions Excepted”). One “Negef” may have been enough. And anyone who answers enough questions gets a coupon for 75 Shekels (but more on that later).
First, they start by calling your number. Unlike past surveys, this one is not optional. You may decline to assist central planning schemes for the great privilege of paying them a 500 Shekel fine (in addition to all the Corona fines…). The good news is you can say what you like; no law against lying (we can rest assured they will zealously guard our private info as well as always).
If you give them the runaround, they actually knock on your door in person. (Knowledge is power so the State here graciously exempts itself from its own self-imposed privacy restrictions in all its other interactions with citizens.)
They will tell you it takes 20 minutes by phone; it’s more like an hour. As an independent worker, my friend says he makes more than that amount in an hour of honest labor.
Since the lottery includes minors, the parents must answer in their stead. Who has more young children on average? Observant Jews. And you only get the coupon if you insist on answering online. So, you must have internet access plus a phone with SMS messaging for verification (no alternatives enabled). Who has less internet and\or smartphones? Observant Jews. And then you need to visit the subsidized stores in holy shopping malls and the like to redeem your consolation prize for forfeited labor. Who does this handicap? Again, observant Jews.
So, while being singled out for forced labor helping the enemy’s intelligence gathering, the “compensation” is not distributed equally. So, less welfare, right?