The Knesset advanced the 'muezzin bill' in a preliminary reading Wednesday. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who championed the proposal, criticized United Torah Judaism lawmakers for boycotting the vote, accusing party chairman Moshe Gafni of making a deal with MK Ahmad Tibi.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir criticized United Torah Judaism (UTJ) lawmakers Wednesday for boycotting the preliminary Knesset vote on the so-called muezzin bill, which would restrict the use of loudspeakers for the Islamic call to prayer. Ben Gvir accused UTJ chairman MK Moshe Gafni of making a deal with MK Ahmad Tibi (Hadash-Ta'al) to skip the vote. The bill passed its preliminary reading with 50 votes in favor and 36 against, despite the absence of UTJ's eight MKs.
The legislation was first advanced in a preliminary Knesset reading at 17:38 Jerusalem time Wednesday, passing by a 50-36 vote count, according to N12 reporter Dafna Liel. The bill targets noise levels from mosque loudspeakers and now moves to committee. Earlier, at 17:19 Jerusalem, Yisrael Beytenu announced its support for the measure, potentially securing passage in future readings. The same bill had previously been dropped from the Knesset agenda on June 24, after MK Ahmad Tibi said he received a phone call from MK Moshe Gafni informing him the bill was removed, as The Zioneer reported at 11:23 Jerusalem on that date.
The political backdrop includes allegations reported by Channel 14 on June 22 that Ben Gvir was using the bill to expose a possible deal between Gafni and Tibi on the military draft exemption law. The Zioneer also reported on June 24 that UTJ lawmakers boycotted a plenum vote on the bill, stalling its progress at that time. In a related development, The Zioneer reported on June 18 that Ben Gvir warned fellow coalition member Aryeh Deri against a political maneuver against ultra-Orthodox parties, calling the haredim 'my brothers.'
The extent of UTJ's continued opposition to the bill in future legislative stages remains unclear. The bill now requires committee preparation and further plenary readings before it can become law.
5 developments
- DevelopingHamas condemns Knesset's preliminary approval of muezzin bill
- DevelopingBen Gvir clashes with Arab MKs in Knesset after muezzin bill passes preliminary vote
- StrongMuezzin bill set for Knesset plenum vote next week; Avraham Hasson alleges Ben Gvir maneuver behind the scenes
- DevelopingYisrael Beytenu announces support for muezzin bill
Source and signal
- Internal intake