Speaking on Radio 103 FM this morning, the mayor of Kiryat Shemonah, Avichai Stern, questioned why huge protests are permitted but prayers - even in the open air - are subject to strict restrictions on the number of people permitted to congregate.
He, along with other mayors, has submitted a petition to the Supreme Court, asking for prayer services and protests to be treated in the same manner.
"Why should mass protests be permitted, whereas prayers for large numbers of people are forbidden?" he questioned. "If the thousands of people protesting outside Balfour [the Prime Minister's Jerusalem residence] had been supporters of the Prime Minister rather than his opponents, they would have said that protests cause contagion and would have banned them."