Mosque bill sponsor says vote going ahead despite loggerheads over timing

Despite rumors of the so-called mosque bill’s demise, the measure’s sponsor tells The Times of Israel the proposal to ban mosques from using loudspeakers to broadcast the traditional call to prayer will be voted on next week.

A vote on the bill was pulled from the Knesset agenda earlier in the day and Interior Minister Aryeh Deri indicated it will be buried.

But Jewish Home MK Moti Yogev, who pushed for the bill, says that it will go ahead, though disagreements over the hours the ban would apply mean the text of the first reading of the bill is likely to include two versions of a clause defining the scope of the law.

Earlier, Yogev said the delay was requested by the prime minister and Knesset speaker in order to “soften the bill to [apply to] the night hours only,” referring to a compromise with the ultra-Orthodox parties reached several weeks ago, which was announced but apparently did not make in into revisions of the legislation.

“We are working on it now,” he tweeted.

According Hebrew media reports, however, Netanyahu is in fact seeking to restore the bill to its original form, namely to have it apply both during the day and night hours.

The proposal was initially blocked by Health Minister Yaakov Litzman over fears it would prevent synagogues from using sirens to announce the onset of Shabbat.

The idea to offer two versions of a single clause is apparently taken from the Regulation Bill to legalize West Bank outposts, which had included two version of a clause regarding the evacuation Amona. There, as in this case, including two options were intended to allow the bill to progress through the legislative process while disagreements over the final text were still being negotiated.

— Raoul Wootliff