Last week, Israel’s government passed a new law governing the presence of leavened food, or hametz, in hospitals during Passover. The action has revived one of the nation’s most contentious arguments as the holiday gets underway.
Its supporters are saying that it will have minimal practical effect, presenting the bill as a technical change. Critics are viewing it as part of a bigger effort by the government to introduce stronger religious values into Israel’s public sphere.
Passover this year starts on April 5 and will last for seven days. It marks the departure from Egypt, a tradition that revolves around the Israelites consuming unleavened bread, or matzah, as they departed in a hurry. Halakha (Jewish law) forbids consumption or even possession of leavening during Passover. For most Jewish households, preparation for Passover is an all-embracing ceremony cleansing kitchens, incinerating remaining bread, and meticulously making sure that even minute traces of hametz are removed.
What the New Law Does
The law was enacted on March 28 as an amendment to the Patient’s Rights Bill, and it grants new powers to hospitals over the holiday:
- Authority of hospital directors – Hospital officials now have the authority to make decisions regarding the restrictions to be placed on hametz.
- Mandatory signage – Every hospital is required to display clearly worded instructions explaining its policy.
- Enhanced role of security personnel – Guards, who are already tasked with checking for weapons, can also be trained to search for hametz.
- Applies to all – Patients, visitors, and employees alike are subject to these limitations if management decides to implement them.
Hospitals already maintain kosher kitchens, but outside food has been a contentious point for many years. The worry is that hametz might taint kitchens or utensils made kosher for the holiday, and erase weeks of effort by hospital workers responsible for keeping strict standards.
Why Hametz Matters
The hametz prohibition is the most external aspect of Passover observance. Secular families even tend to stay away from leaven, and many view it as more of a cultural practice than a religious requirement. Bakeries shut down for the week, supermarket aisles get rerouted, and the whole food culture in Israel temporarily redirects toward matzah, potatoes, and kosher-for-Passover packaged food.
For observant Jews, permitting hametz in hospitals threatens to undermine their observance. But hospitals are also public places that individuals can’t help going to, which makes the debate turn into a conflict between religious tradition and individual rights. A patient undergoing treatment may have no choice but to go to a hospital, and guests might go with food out of habit without being aware of the sensitivities.
Political Background
The controversy isn’t new. In fact, it helped topple Israel’s government last year.
In April 2022, coalition member Idit Silman resigned after clashing with then–Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, who had reminded hospitals they must follow a court ruling allowing visitors to bring hametz inside.
Silman accused the government of eroding Israel’s Jewish identity. Her resignation cost Prime Minister Naftali Bennett his majority, collapsing the fragile coalition.
The conflict had been simmering for decades:
- 2018 petition – The Adalah organization, which advocates on behalf of Arab citizens, protested bag checks for hametz at hospitals as humiliating.
- 2020 Supreme Court decision – The court ruled that hospitals could not outlaw hametz blanketly. They may permit individuals to bring hametz but may establish arrangements to maintain kosher food provided by the hospital.
- Ultra-Orthodox backlash – Religious parties criticized the ruling and pledged to insist on tighter controls.
Now, with the most religiously right-wing government in Israel’s history in office, they have managed to pursue legislation designed to circumvent the court’s boundaries.
Reactions to the Law
Not everyone views the new law the same way.
- Supporters – Religious parties maintain that the bill is needed because the Supreme Court held that only the Knesset could bestow hospital directors with such powers. To them, it’s more technical rather than revolutionary.
- Opponents – Secular and centrist politicians say it’s about imposing religious mores on the public. Labor Party MK Gilad Kariv said the law violates freedom of conscience and will open the door to other public institutions being restricted.
Some directors of hospitals have already indicated they don’t plan to impose strict searches. But uncertainty is real: in Netanya, a hospital security guard took cookies from a pregnant woman, though it was not clear whether the management had instructed it.
Public Opinion
Surveys show how deeply divided Israelis remain on the matter. A poll conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute reported:
- 48% think hametz should be permitted into hospitals for the intermediate days of Passover.
- 44% oppose allowing it.
- 76% object to bag searches for hametz.
- 59% of Jewish respondents support designated eating areas for those who bring leavened food.
- Meanwhile, 72% of government coalition supporters want a total ban, showing the sharp split between the ruling bloc and the broader public.
In an interesting twist, the results of the poll also underscore a realistic middle way. Most people are not insisting on complete freedom to introduce sandwiches and pizza, but rather compromise measures like clearly defined areas or sealed containers to reduce religious reservations while honoring personal choice.
Historical Context
The Hametz Law is very old in Israel.
- 1986 law – Prohibited public exhibition of hametz in commercial establishments during Passover to prevent giving offense to religious sensibilities.
- 2008 court decision – Restricted the meaning of “public place,” enabling restaurants and stores to sell hametz discreetly.
- Repeated attempts – Ultra-Orthodox politicians have attempted to expand the prohibition; secular politicians have attempted to abrogate it. Both attempts failed.
By targeting hospitals in particular, the new amendment moves the argument onto a more delicate field: healthcare, where access is inevitable. For surgery patients, patients undergoing treatments, or women in labor, hospitals are not voluntary venues, so the issue of religious enforcement is so much more urgent than in restaurants or stores.
Political Fallout
The legislation was approved by a narrow margin, 48–43, during countrywide protests against unrelated judicial reforms. The timing gave it added symbolism and felt like part of an overarching cultural battle.
It is complained that the government is unnecessarily provoking divisions. Ex-Rabbinical Affairs Minister Matan Kahana contended that the hospitals were already deterring hametz informally and legislating now only “adds fuel to the fire.
However, religious lawmakers view the step as a rectification of what the court imposed on them. MK Moshe Gafni, a senior ultra-Orthodox parliamentarian, acknowledged the bill was “unnecessary” in reality but maintained that the court had no alternative, as only the Knesset had the authority to grant hospitals the ability to act.
The Larger Debate
Fundamentally, the battle between hametz in hospitals is not just about food. It is a symbol of three intersecting battles in Israeli society:
- Religion vs. personal autonomy – Must public bodies impose religious practice, or must that be a personal choice?
- Judicial authority vs. legislative authority – The Supreme Court attempted to balance rights; the Knesset overruled it.
- Identity politics – For some, prohibiting hametz is about maintaining Israel’s Jewish identity; for others, it’s about fighting religious coercion.
The law also points to a familiar dynamic: small religious parties exerting disproportionate power in coalition politics. Because coalition governments tend to rely on narrow majorities, one party can use issues such as hametz to further larger agendas.
Where Things Stand
Even with the inflammatory language, enforcement could turn out to be patchy. Some hospitals would adhere rigidly to the law, and others would implement more relaxed measures, like set eating areas. A great deal will also depend upon how directors opt to exercise their new powers.
What is evident is that the symbolic weight of the hametz debate far exceeds the practical issue of whether or not one consumes bread in a hospital waiting room. The argument resonates with Israel’s deepest fault lines between religious and secular, tradition and modernity, individual freedom and group identity.
With Passover around the corner, the matter is once again at the center of attention. Whether this law transforms daily life in hospitals is yet to be seen. But within the larger narrative of Israeli politics, it is already another chapter in the ongoing battle over religion’s place in public space.
