Israeli rabbis are set to ban the burka for a small group of radical Jewish women who have taken to wearing it.
Two years ago, it emerged that around 100 women in the city of Beit Shemesh had begun to cover their faces with a veil and wear numerous layers of clothing to obscure their body shape. When many rabbis criticised the trend, the women took no notice because they considered the rabbis too moderate.
But now, the religious body admired by the most religiously hard-line elements in Israel - even the Neturei Karta anti-Zionist sect - is about to apply its clout and try to quash the trend.
The Eda Charedit rabbinic organisation will soon release a statement condemning the practice of the Beit Shemesh women, Shlomo Pappenheim, a senior member of the management committees, said.
