Israel has OK'd a bill to make mosques quieter. If the bill becomes law, Israel's mosques will not be able to use loudspeakers during the call to prayer. The call to prayer happens five times a day. The first time is at dawn and the last is after sunset. The bill has to pass several more stages to become law. It says loudspeakers at mosques are too loud and damage the quality of life for people who live near mosques. The Israeli politician who made the bill said, "hundreds of thousands of Israelis suffer regularly and daily from noise caused by the [prayer] calls from mosques".
Israel's Prime Minister supports the bill. He said: "Israel is committed to freedom of religion, but it must also protect citizens from the noise of the announcements." An Arab politician said the bill was, "another law in a series of racist…laws that only aim to create an atmosphere of hatred…against the Arab public". Another critic said the bill would, "create noise that will hurt all of society and the efforts to establish [harmony] between Jews and Arabs". Arabs make up roughly 20 per cent of Israel's population, while Jews make up around 75 per cent.
