Sephardi leader Rabbi Joseph Dweck says Belz driving ban makes women feel inferior

Writing on Facebook, Rabbi Dweck said the restriction was “deeply upsetting on many levels” and made the Torah seem “restrictive, oppressive and anti-life”.

Judaism recognised the important value of reserve and modesty, he said, but this restriction was “a form of subjugation” which controlled and manipulated.

He added: “When a mother can no longer bring her children to school in the manner that is most normal in the region in which she lives, we must be deeply concerned with its direct effects on the dignity and sanctity of humanity”. Rabbi Dweck's discussion of modesty argues that "Reserve, or tseniut, as it is called in Jewish law, is meant in its essence to protect and uphold the value of something or someone by limiting its exposure. It is meant to treasure that which is most precious. Yet, it happens that when we aim to treasure something dear to us, we can cross a line."