Scrubbing brushes and vacuum cleaners are the recognised weapons in the annual war against all things leavened. But one religious man has found a novel use for the humble sock.

Arieh Yerushalmi, 28, of Bat Yam was so angry about the sale of chametz during Pesach that he stripped naked in a local supermarket — save for the strategically placed sock.

Yerushalmi had been incensed by a court ruling allowing the sale of leavened goods in supermarkets because they are not designated as public places, unlike open air markets.

In protest, the yeshivah student stripped off his regular Charedi clothes to reveal the message “This isn’t public?” in large writing on his abdomen.

He told reporters that he had deployed the sock because of his religious principles, but “the shame is not mine”.

Yerushalmi argued that he should not be prosecuted because he had not stripped in a public place. The police are expected to ask Rishon Le-Zion Magistrates’ Court to seek a psychiatric report. He also stripped off for a Pesach protest last year and police fear it may become an annual ritual.

For now, he is worried about the reaction of family and friends: “I guess they don’t see things like I do.”