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Israel: UTJ Submits Bill To Prevent Chametz In Hospitals On Pesach, Opposition Slams 'Religious Coercion’'

January 24, 2023 - from VinNews:

"In another indication of the new government’s intent to roll back policies of its predecessor, the UTJ party submitted a bill to ban Chometz from hospitals during Pesach.

"In 2020 the High Court declared such bans in hospitals to be illegal, and last year the court issued a similar ruling regarding army bases. When Former health minister Nitzan Horowitz instructed hospitals to abide by the court’s ruling ahead of Pesach 2022, coalition whip Idit Silman described it as an attempt by the more liberal parties in the government to weaken the state’s “Jewish character” and used it as a pretext to leave the government, starting the process of the coalition’s downfall.

"The new bill submitted Monday would legalize and require Chometz bans in hospitals, as was customary before the 2020 court decision.

"In their explanatory notes to the bill, MKs Moshe Gafni, Yaakov Asher, and Yitzchak Pindrus explained that their bill would not be overly onerous for non-Jewish patients in hospitals as 'in light of developments in food technology there are kosher-for-Passover replacements for all sorts of foods — rolls, cakes, cookies and candy bars.'

"Opposition MK and former Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana blasted the bill, stating it would lead to intentional attempts to bring in Chametz.