Prior to the vote on the Muezzin Law, MK Zouheir Bahloul (Zionist Union) joined with Rabbi Yosef Yashar, the Chief Rabbi of Acre, to speak against the bill.
"From the day I began my job as the rabbi of the city of Acre, I saw the importance of mutual respect and tolerance among all religions in the city." Rabbi Yashar said. "We have been dealing with the issue of the volume of the muezzin, and have resolved it through dialogue and understanding. [We met] face to face and always cooperated with each other."
"It is not appropriate for such a topic to be dealt with through legislation and coercion from above. The texture of life between religions in the country remains for the local religious leadership to preserve so as to lead to true coexistence."
MK Bahloul, formerly a radio broadcaster, added that the "policy of incitement by the Netanyahu government continues and has reached provinces which are unrecognizable. This is yet another attempt by the government to make Arab citizens feel like guests in their own homes, to exclude the Arabic language from the public sphere and to deepen the alienation between Jews and Arabs."