Netanyahu stops bill that would punish Christian proselytising with jail term

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would stop a disputed proposal to punish Christian proselytising with a prison term.

The bill says soliciting someone to convert their faith should be punishable by one year in prison, while coaxing a minor to convert should attract a two-year sentence.

“Recently, the attempts of missionary groups, mainly Christians, to solicit conversion of religion have increased,” the bill said.

It was introduced in January by a pair of ultra-Orthodox Jewish legislators. Moshe Gafni, a powerful ally in Mr Netanyahu’s coalition who heads the parliament’s finance committee, was one of them.

The proposal raised uproar among evangelical Christians – one of Israel’s strongest and most influential support groups in the US.

The bill was never advanced, but it drew widespread attention in the US evangelical world this week after All Israel News, an evangelical news site, reported on it.

On Wednesday, Mr Netanyahu said on Twitter: “We will not advance any law against the Christian community.”

Mr Gafni said he had introduced the bill as a procedural matter and there were no plans to advance it.

Evangelical Christians, particularly in the US, view Israel as the fulfilment of a biblical prophecy. Israel has long welcomed the group’s political and financial support and has largely ignored concerns about any hidden religious agenda.

Most Jews view any effort to convert them to Christianity as deeply offensive – a legacy of centuries of persecution.

Joel Rosenberg, editor in chief of All Israel News, welcomed Mr Netanyahu’s announcement, which comes at a time of domestic turmoil in Israel over his plan to overhaul the country’s legal system and rising tensions with the Biden administration over West Bank settlement activities.

Mr Netanyahu “is a proven friend to the global Christian community”, he said.