The "Forum of 15 Cities," a group of large cities in Israel which do not receive government development grants or other special assistance, petitioned the High Court Tuesday demanding that they be exempted from having to increase the amount of money they lay out for funding of Religious Councils in their cities. The government is demanding that they pay 75% of the cost of funding the Councils, an amount lawyers for the cities say is excessive, and exceeds the government's authority to demand.

The cities, which including Tel Aviv, Holon, Rishon Letzion, Haifa, Raanana, and other large cities in the center of the country, represent over 40% of Israel's population.