Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Hackers take control of Israeli TV broadcast and play Muslim call to prayer

Incident allegedly takes place in protest of controversial bill that limits the volume of the call to prayer from mosques

Harriet Agerholm
Wednesday 07 December 2016 20:56 EST
Comments
Hackers make Israeli TV play Muslim call to prayer after parliament tried to ban it

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Hackers took control of an Israeli news channel and broadcast the Muslim call to prayer.

Israel's Channel 2’s transmission was disrupted after hackers gained access to TV satellites on Tuesday night.

The hack allegedly took place in protest of a controversial bill that limits the volume of the ‘Adhan’ from mosques in Israel.

The transmission also had messages written in Hebrew warning of “punishment from God” and said that “the fire burned hearts”.

“Residents in northern Israel viewing Channel 2 via satellite TV reported that during the evening broadcast someone took over central control of the broadcast and played the voice of the muezzin,” the Tribune reported.

An Arab politician had previously staged a Muslim call to prayer in Israel’s parliament in protest against the bill to quieten mosques.

Ahmad Tibi, a member of the Israeli government, performed the ‘Azan’ during a speech in which he argued the proposed bill.

Another Arab-Israeli politician, Taleb Abu Arar, joined Mr Tibi in performing the call.

The bill, which applies to all places of worship but is seen as targeting mosques, has the support of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I cannot count the times – they are simply too numerous – that citizens have turned to me from all parts of Israeli society, from all religions, with complaints about the noise and suffering caused them by the excessive noise coming to them from the public address systems of houses of prayer,” Mr Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in