The Knesset on Wednesday voted 50-36 in a preliminary reading to advance a bill tightening restrictions on loudspeakers in mosques, in what supporters described as an effort to curb “unreasonable noise,” but which opposition lawmakers have said unfairly targets Israel’s Muslim minority.

Sponsored by far-right Otzma Yehudit MK Zvika Fogel, the bill would require mosques to obtain permits to operate loudspeaker systems, authorize police to enter premises to halt violations and impose administrative fines for breaches. Muezzins use loudspeakers in mosques to issue calls to prayer five times a day, including the predawn Fajr prayer.

“This is not a political issue,” Fogel told the plenum.

“Just as the law is enforced against event halls, private businesses, factories and houses of worship of every kind, so too must it be enforced equally here,” he said.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir welcomed the bill — which must pass three more votes before being passed into law — declaring that “governance begins with noise,” and claiming that residents of Arab communities also suffer from the calls broadcast over loudspeakers.

Arab lawmakers countered that Ben Gvir is prioritizing what they described as the persecution of a religious minority instead of addressing surging violent crime in Arab communities, after three people were........

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