Ben Gvir pushes legislation to enforce limits on volume of mosques’ calls to prayer

By Sam Sokol 13 May 2026, 9:03 pm

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Sam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"

A man looks out from a minaret at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem on January 23, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party announces that it will seek to advance a bill tightening the enforcement of limits on the use of loudspeakers in mosques.

The bill, sponsored by Knesset National Security Committee chairman Zvika Fogel, aims to enforce the prohibition of “unreasonable noise from the muezzin.”

Muezzins use loudspeakers in mosques to issue calls to prayer five times a day, including the predawn Fajr prayer.

Previous legislation on the subject “allowed broad exceptions with limited enforcement,” Otzma Yehudit says in a statement, adding that its bill “imposes clear personal responsibility on the operating entity and significantly strengthens the powers of enforcement and punishment.”

The statement says: “According to the bill, no public address system will be installed or operated in a mosque without a permit. The granting of a permit will be assessed according to the intensity of the noise, measures to reduce it, the location of the mosque, its proximity to residential areas and the impact of the noise on residents. In the event of a violation of the rules, a police officer will be able to demand an immediate cessation, and if the violation continues, to confiscate the public address system.”

Those operating or installing a loudspeaker without a permit will be liable to a NIS 50,000 ($17,178) fine, while those operating such systems in violation of the terms of their permits will have to pay NIS 10,000 ($3,435).

“In many places, the sound of the muezzin is unreasonable noise that harms the quality of life and health of residents,” says Ben Gvir. “This is a phenomenon that cannot be tolerated. The Israel Police will act decisively to enforce it, and the bill gives it the missing tools.”

In late 2024, Ben Gvir instructed the police to confiscate speakers from mosques and fine them for noise in a bid to stop the Muslim houses of worship from broadcasting calls to prayer, leading to pushback from Arab and Muslim leaders as well as the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties.

Right-wing lawmakers and activists have spearheaded efforts to muffle mosque loudspeakers over the years. Jewish residents of East Jerusalem and other areas of Israel have long complained about what they say is the excessive noise coming from mosques.