Orthodox man in Israel discrimination row

"I was appalled that something like that could happen in Israel," he said.

The soldier is planning to sue the club. His lawyer said the case was important because while "everyone talks a lot about the exclusion of women, here we have a case of exclusion of religious men".

In recent weeks there have been protests over the influence of Charedim in public life in Israel, and in particular in discriminating against women, after it emerged than an eight-year-old girl was spat on as she went to school because she was allegedly not dressed modestly enough.

In another case, a woman called Tanya Rosenblit earned the label "the Israeli Rosa Parks" for refusing to accept segregation on a bus through a strictly Orthodox area. Ms Rosenblit said today that she had been getting death threats in response to her actions.