Jerome Sokolowski

The Knesset voted in favor of the bill by a vote of 49 to 35, with support from right-wing parties and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition.

The bill still needs to pass through committee readings to become law, but if it does, it would become illegal to restrict Jewish prayer and practices in public, such as wrapping tefillin, the leather straps and boxes with Torah verses that are worn during daily morning prayers.

Opponents fear the bill favors Orthodox Judaism at the expense of progressive movements and infringes on the rights of secular Jews.

In another development, police say 10 officers were injured in Jerusalem in a clash with ultra-Orthodox Jews protesting conscription into the army.

Jerome Sokolofsky, NPR News, Tel Aviv.

South Holland and Dalton might not mean anything to you, but Dalton is where our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, grew up and is from.

And our houses are literally 14 blocks away from each other.

Jerome Sokolowski has more from Tel Aviv.

When we grew up, we thought we were the blessed Jews.

We were the ones who didn't have to deal with all that.

And unfortunately, the last few years have shown us that that isn't quite true.

Amnesty says Hamas and other Gaza militants, as well as unaffiliated civilians, were involved in the attack that killed more than 1,100 Israelis.

Their inhumane acts were widespread and systematic in nature and included torture, rape, and enforced pregnancy, the 173-page report says.

In its response, Hamas accuses Amnesty of colluding with Israel to, quote, demonize the Palestinian people.

But the Israeli foreign ministry says the report fails to show the full extent of the atrocities and calls Amnesty, quote, a biased organization.

Last year, Amnesty accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.

Israel vehemently rejected the charge.

Jerome Sokolowski, NPR News, Tel Aviv.