A highly contentious Bill which threatens to inflame Arab religious and ethnic sensitivities in Israel by clamping down on mosques using loudspeakers for the call to prayer has split the Cabinet of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Mr Netanyahu expressed sympathy this week for the principle behind the Bill, promoted by Anastasia Michaeli, a Knesset member in the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party led by the Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman.
Ms Michaeli's so-called muezzin Bill would actually ban the use of such loudspeakers in any place of worship, but is clearly directed at mosques used by Israel's mainly Muslim million-plus Arab minority. She has said the Bill comes from "a world view whereby freedom of religion should not be a factor in undermining quality of life".
The Bill is believed to be the first attempt to impose change on calls to worship from mosques since the formation of the state of Israel in 1948. This week, Mr Netanyahu postponed discussion of the measure in the key ministerial committee on legislation after it ran into stiff opposition from three prominent ministers in his own Likud Party: Dan Meridor, a Deputy Prime Minister, Michael Eitan, and Limor Livnat. All three argued that it would unnecessarily escalate tensions.
But Mr Netanyahu made it clear that he wanted the issue addressed, saying in reference to curbs in Belgium and France, where officials have imposed bans on street prayer, that "there is no need to be more liberal than Europe".
The Bill, or a version of it, may be put before the ministerial committee next week. » | Donald MacIntyre, Jerusalem | Tuesday, December 13, 2011
