Another case where either politicians are purposely obtuse or the newspaper is not reporting the full story.
"Health Minister Yakov Litzman (United Torah Judaism) filed an appeal on the bill, which was to be voted upon Wednesday, due to concerns that, in addition to Muslim calls to prayer, it could also affect the sirens sounded indicating the start of the Sabbath."
It is unclear what Litzman's issue is. The Muslim call to prepare is 5 times a day and can be between 3 to 4 AM and 9 to 10 PM. That is likely more disruptive to people's sleep than the Shabbos siren that sounds once a week on Friday between 4 to 8 PM.
Haredi MKs fear bill could affect weekly Shabbat sirens • Joint Arab List MK Ahmad Tibi: "We will not respect this law, and I call on our public: Revolt against it and reject it" • Jordanian Islamic affairs undersecretary denounces bill.
Gideon Allon, Erez Linn, Yehuda Shlezinger and Mati Tuchfeld
The vote on the so-called "muezzin bill," which would bar public places of worship from using loudspeakers for calls to prayer, was postponed following opposition from haredi Knesset members.
Health Minister Yakov Litzman (United Torah Judaism) filed an appeal on the bill, which was to be voted upon Wednesday, due to concerns that, in addition to Muslim calls to prayer, it could also affect the sirens sounded indicating the start of the Sabbath.
According to Litzman, the bill could damage the long-standing status quo. The appeal will allow for further discussion before the delayed vote, expected to take place on Sunday.
The bill, sponsored by Habayit Hayehudi MKs Moti Yogev, Shuli Mualem-Rafaeli and Bezalel Smotrich, Likud MKs Miki Zohar, Avraham Neguise and Nurit Koren, and Kulanu MK Merav Ben-Ari, says that, given the proximity of Jewish and Arab neighborhoods to each other in Israel, the calls to prayer by mosques' muezzins five times each day -- at sunrise, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and night -- affect residents for miles around. It seeks to limit calls to prayer at nighttime and to restrict the decibel level during the day.
The Joint Arab List is also expected to fight the muezzin bill. MK Ahmad Tibi (Joint Arab List) said Tuesday, "We will not respect this law, and I call on our public: Revolt against it and reject it. [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu personally stands behind this bill, and he spreads incitement against Islam."
Yisrael Beytenu faction head MK Robert Ilatov responded to his comments with an appeal to Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit, seeking a criminal investigation into the Joint Arab List Knesset member. "Tibi was interviewed by the Al Mayadeen channel in Lebanon, which identifies with the Hezbollah terrorist organization, regarding the muezzin bill. He called on the entire Arab public in Israel to reject the bill and even to revolt against the State of Israel. Tibi incessantly incites an entire [sector of the] public against the State of Israel."
Likud MK Anat Berko added, "Tibi and many members of his party work tirelessly to agitate the Arab citizens of Israel and to crudely tear at the delicate seems that still allow for coexistence between Jews and Arabs in a country where mosques remain peacefully intact."
Yogev called on opposition members Tuesday to support the bill: "We have no intention to harm freedom of religion, rather to prevent damage done to the sleep of the majority of citizens who are harmed by the calls of the muezzin."
The bill's approval by the Ministerial Committee on Legislation on Sunday caused a stir in Jordan, with Jordanian Islamic Affairs Undersecretary Abdullah Abbadi saying, "An occupier cannot make any historical change to the city it occupies, and things [must] remain the same without any change."
Abbadi, who is also director of the Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department, stressed that the calls to prayer from Al-Aqsa will continue five times per day "forever.""
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