Overview
- Lawmakers approved the measure in a 56–47 preliminary vote, sending it to committee for drafting and further readings before it can become law.
- The amendment would define conduct at Jewish holy sites that violates Chief Rabbinate rulings as “desecration,” carrying penalties of up to seven years in prison.
- Advocates and multiple groups say the bill would effectively end mixed‑gender and other non‑Orthodox prayer at the Western Wall, including at the Ezrat Yisrael plaza.
- Sponsor Avi Maoz and Justice Minister Yariv Levin cast the move as a response to a recent High Court directive to advance upgrades to the egalitarian section.
- Senior officials dispute whether the bill would extend to the Temple Mount, and coalition figures suggest language could be revised, while progressive and Diaspora Jewish leaders condemn the proposal; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier pulled it from a ministerial track before it advanced as a private bill.