Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Wednesday, March 22, 2023

PM forced to clarify: We won’t pass bills that harm Christians in Israel

22 March 2023, 6:31 pm 1 Edit
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on March 12, 2023. (Marc Israel Sellem/Pool/Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on March 12, 2023. (Marc Israel Sellem/Pool/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweets a promise that Israel will not legislate against Christians after a draft bill from a member of his coalition generates controversy overseas.

“We will not advance any law against the Christian community,” the prime minister tweets in English and Hebrew.

The tweet comes in response to an uproar among some Evangelical Christians — traditionally strong supporters of Israel — after learning of a bill put forward by the United Torah Judaism party that would send anyone who proselytizes to prison for a year.

The bill has been introduced many times over the past two decades and failed to ever advance, but news of its reintroduction gained traction in some conservative media outlets, sparking backlash.

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