Knesset Approves Bill Strengthening Jewish Identity In Public Sphere, Yesh Atid MK Tears It Up

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The Knesset plenum approved on Wednesday in a preliminary reading, the Bill on the Implementation of Jewish Identity in the Public Sphere, sponsored by MK Galit Distel Atbaryan, by a vote of 49 in favor and 35 against. The bill will now be forwarded to the Knesset Committee, which will decide in which committee it will be further discussed.

However, the debate itself quickly escalated into a heated confrontation after MK Merav Ben-Ari (Yesh Atid) tore up the bill in protest against its content. The move sparked an uproar in the plenum, with coalition members shouting at her: “Shame on you.”

The bill seeks to anchor in legislation the right to express Jewish identity in the public sphere and in institutions funded by the state budget. Among other provisions, it would prohibit interference with the laying of tefillin or the holding of Jewish prayer, and would regulate the conduct of prayers in public spaces and public institutions in accordance with the tradition of the worshippers, where a community that practices such customs exists in Israel.

The explanatory notes to the bill state that in recent years there has been a decline in the ability to maintain Jewish religious symbols in public, whether due to bureaucratic restrictions or public pressure.

“The Knesset of Israel must stand firm and ensure that the public sphere remains a place where every Jew can express their faith with pride,” the notes read.

Opposition parties sharply criticized the bill, arguing that it is a political move that deepens the rift between religious and secular Israelis. In contrast, coalition members emphasized that the bill does not constitute religious coercion, but rather protects freedom of religion and expression in a Jewish and democratic state.