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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said he would prevent the passage of a proposal by a powerful ally in his governing coalition to punish Christian proselytizing with jail time.
The proposal had raised an uproar with evangelical Christians — one of Israel’s strongest and most influential supporters in the United States.
The bill was introduced in January by a pair of ultra-Orthodox Jewish lawmakers, including Moshe Gafni, who heads the parliament’s Finance Committee. It says soliciting someone to convert their faith should be punishable by one year in prison and solicitation to convert a minor would be punishable with a two-year sentence.
“Recently, the attempts of missionary groups, mainly Christians, to solicit conversion of religion have increased,” it said.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Israel are considered the most developed in the Middle East. [2] Although same-sex sexual activity was legalized in 1988, the former law against sodomy had not been enforced since a court decision in 1963.
Or is it that Netanyahu really needs "good" press right now?