[Bonaparte]

"There is no such law. It's against the law to proselytize minors, or to pay for conversion, but that’s it."

Well, you could be right. But my understanding is that in keeping with the broad wording of the 1977 "anti-proselytizing law," the giving of money (amount unspecified) or of any equivalent of money (again, unspecified) or any other benefit to a person (age unspecified), for the purpose of inducing conversion to another religion is punishable by a large fine or by several years imprisonment.

Under this broadly worded statute, the giving of a 2-page tract to any person could qualify as an offense, as could the feeding, clothing and sheltering of indigent persons -- a Christian practice common in Israel.

I looked in vain for a searchable Israeli statute site, so I can't produce the actual text of the law. Perhaps you can find one.

Here is a US Department of State article that generally explores this subject.

[SJackson]

I don't know where you could find the text of the law, but the State Dept. reports each year that it's never been enforced, and notes that it refers to material compensation. I'm guessing that if a 2 page tract fell under that definition, someone would have been prosecuted in the last thirty years. I believe there have been actions regarding minors.

I don't know the background for sure, but I've been told it sprung from an attempt to "purchase" converts to Islam. In Israel religious schools are state funded and some social programs are demonination based, so an increase in Muslims, for example, would likely result in an increase in state funding to their institutions. Whether that was the reason, I don't know. There was also an anti-proselytization law introduced in the late 90s which went nowhere. Some people confuse the two.