Rabbis from Elad in central Israel have a bone to pick – with dogs and their owners.

Twelve Orthodox ministers last month signed an edict banning dogs from the city and warning owners they will be cursed for keeping them.

The rabbis say in the edict that the dogs are scaring women and children with their barks, “even if it does not bite”.

“We have heard and have seen that lately, a serious phenomenon has spread in our city Elad, in which young boys and children walk around publicly with dogs. This is strictly forbidden. As explained in the Talmud and by the Rambam, anyone raising a dog is accursed and especially in our city where many women and children are afraid of dogs,” the edict stated.

The city’s chief rabbi, Mordechai Malka, signed the edict, which also said that the term “bad dog” means “any dog, for it barks on whomever it does not know and because of its bark it is a bad dog even if does not bite”.

People who keep dogs for medical needs should appear before the local rabbinical court so it may rule on their matter, the edict said.

The Talmud and the 12th-century sage Maimonides, or the Rambam, frequently regard dogs as dangerous and unclean.

In 2016, Tel Aviv declared itself the friendliest world city for dogs, claiming the most canines per capita of any city in the world.