When the Knesset legislates religious practice, it not only harms Israel’s democracy but undermines the Jewish identity it claims to protect
Judaism does not need police protection or criminal sanctions imposed by the government. When the Knesset begins legislating faith instead of protecting freedom, something has gone terribly wrong. Imagine a situation where every public space in Israel was forced, by law, to have a holiday candlelighting each of the eight days of Hanukkah. Would that bring more light into this dark season?
The bill advanced this week at the initiative of coalition MKs Galit Distel Atbaryan and Yitzhak Kroizer, which has now passed a preliminary reading, includes a requirement to install mezuzahs in public institutions and criminalizes interfering with Jewish Orthodox religious practices in public spaces. It is being marketed as a defense of Jewish identity. In reality, it represents another step in turning Judaism into a coercive political instrument – one that deepens division, erodes civil liberties, and ultimately weakens the very Jewish character it claims to protect.
The most troubling clause lies in the bill’s treatment of prayer in the public sphere. Under the proposed law, public authorities would be stripped of all discretion and required to approve any request for prayer in public spaces. Officials who refuse – even for reasons of public safety, workplace functioning, or the rights of others – would expose themselves to criminal liability. This is not religious freedom. It is the imposition of religion through state power.
The bill’s reach does not stop at parks and plazas. Private organizations that receive public funding, including nonprofits, social service providers, and community institutions, would be legally required to allow any passerby to enter their premises for the purpose of prayer. This is a sweeping violation of freedom of association, privacy, and basic security, privileging religious compulsion over fundamental human rights.
The same coercive logic underpins other provisions of the bill prohibiting any interference with laying tefillin (phylacteries) in public and mandating the installation of mezuzot in public buildings. These practices have always been among the most personal expressions of Jewish life, rooted in choice, education, and communal tradition. Once the state dictates access, accommodation, and enforcement, Judaism shifts from covenant to compliance. Faith backed by the threat of prosecution is no longer faith: it is regulation.
I work daily with Israelis who seek to live Jewish lives — through marriage, conversion, prayer, and tradition — without humiliation or force. My experience is clear: Judaism is strengthened by persuasion and example, not by the power of the stick.
Israel was founded as both a Jewish and democratic state. Laws that compel religious practice in the name of identity undermine both. If we truly care about Judaism’s future in Israel, we must resist turning it into an instrument of coercion and instead protect the freedom that has sustained it for generations.
BY: Writer Rabbi Seth Farber, PhD, is Founder and Director of ITIM.
Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect The Times Union‘ point of view
