Israeli Parliament Approves Bill Banning Loudspeaker Calls to Prayer at Mosques
Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, has given initial approval to a bill that would ban the use of loudspeakers for the call to prayer at mosques. The decision was made during a preliminary reading on Wednesday (2/7/2026), with 50 votes in favor and 36 against. The bill was proposed by the Otzma Yehudit party, led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and was supported by the opposition party Yisrael Beiteinu, headed by Avigdor Lieberman.
Even though it's still early days and has to go through three more readings, this policy has already sparked debates about religious freedom. If it gets passed, the rule would hit Islamic practices hard, since the call to prayer is how Muslims keep track of prayer times.
Back in 2016, Benjamin Netanyahu’s government put forward something similar, but it got shelved because people worried it might mess with other religious traditions, like the siren marking the Jewish Sabbath.
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