Israel’s Ben Gvir pushes bill to ban Islamic call to prayer Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s party is advancing new legislation to restrict the Islamic call to prayer in mosques. In a statement issued on Sunday, the Jewish Power party said it was working on a bill that would ban the call to prayer unless it is licensed by the state. Approval would depend on criteria set by the authorities, including volume levels, noise-reduction measures, a mosque’s location, its proximity to residential areas and the impact on nearby residents. The draft law was submitted by National Security Committee chair Zvika Fogel and seeks to curb what he described as the “unreasonable noise” of the muezzin, the person who calls Muslims to prayer. Palestinian citizens of Israel have condemned the proposed bill, rejecting claims that mosque calls to prayer constitute a noise problem. They say the legislation is another manifestation of the Israeli government’s push to erase Palestinian religious and cultural identity. “This is not about noise. The call to prayer is not noise,” Khaled Zabarqa, a Lod-based human rights lawyer and activist, told Middle East Eye. Read more: Israel’s Ben Gvir pushes bill to ban Islamic call to prayer The 18th-century Ottoman-period al-Jazzar Mosque, also known as the 'White Mosque', is pictured in the old walled town of Acre in northern Israel on 1 October 2024 (AFP/Ahmad Gharabli)