Shas has announced it will support the muezzin bill, which would restrict mosque call-to-prayer broadcasts, according to a party statement. The move follows the party's earlier threat to withhold coalition support over Haredi draft evader arrests and comes as United Torah Judaism had signaled it would abstain to preserve its deal with Arab MKs.
Shas has formally announced it will support the muezzin bill in the upcoming Knesset vote, confirming earlier reporting by The Zioneer. The party's statement, released at 15:08 on Wednesday, aligns with the split among Haredi factions that was first reported at that same time: Shas will vote in favor, while United Torah Judaism will abstain to avoid breaking a commitment to Arab MKs that had secured their support for the Basic Law: Torah Study.
The Zioneer reported at 15:08 Jerusalem that UTJ would abstain from the vote to preserve that deal, which had been widely described as part of a cross-bloc arrangement — Arab parties helped pass the Haredi-backed Torah Study bill in exchange for Haredi parties helping to kill the muezzin legislation. Shas's decision to support the bill marks a reversal of that understanding and signals a departure from UTJ's approach. Earlier, at 15:08, Shas had also criticized National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for not bringing a separate bill barring Red Cross visits to Nukhba terrorists to a vote, which Shas said would have secured its support.
As The Zioneer reported on Monday, Jun 22, Shas had threatened to suspend all coalition support unless arrests of Haredi yeshiva draft evaders were halted. The muezzin bill, which would restrict the use of outdoor loudspeakers for Islamic calls to prayer, was placed on the Knesset agenda at 11:07 on Wednesday. Background reporting from Jun 10 by Daniel Amram alleged that Arab MKs voted with Likud and Haredim on the Torah Study bill in exchange for blocking the muezzin law, an account that aligned with earlier reports by Daphna Liel.
It remains unclear whether the bill will secure enough votes for passage without UTJ's support. What is not yet known: whether coalition leaders will whip the vote, and whether the Arab parties, which oppose the bill, will mount a filibuster.
5 developments
- DevelopingDaniel Amram claims: Arab MKs vote with Likud and Haredim on Torah Study bill in exchange for blocking muezzin law
- DevelopingRa'am condemns Shas for backing muezzin bill as 'racist, anti-religious'
- DevelopingArab MKs may boycott Torah Study Basic Law vote today
- StrongShas and UTJ halt coalition voting in Knesset over daycare bill delay
Source and signal
- Internal intake