*If Muslims had invented this sort of technology or embraced it, the
Western media would cry out that this is just another example of
Muslim censorship or suppression of freedom and that we were being
extremist or Taliban-esque or backward with modern technology. If
anyone else does it, it’s considered to be religious freedom and
respecting their religious rights. The double-standard that the
secular mainstream media employs when it comes to Muslims is the main
reason why there is so much distrust and scepticism of the press
today. *
Is that cellphone kosher?
Some Haredi Jews have embraced modern technology, with limits
BBC NEWS | Middle East | Is that cellphone kosher?
The BBC’s Erica Chernofsky looks at how Israel’s highly traditional
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community is tackling the challenges and
opportunities of new communications technologies.
When Israeli father Avi tried to register his 6-year-old twin
daughters for his local Ultra-Orthodox school this year, he was happy
to sign a form saying his children do not watch television or use the
internet at home.
But he was surprised to discover he had to give a “kosher cellphone
number”. He did not have one.
Avi lives in Har Nof, one of the main Ultra-Orthodox, or Haredi,
neighbourhoods of Jerusalem.
I feel I can control myself not to use the bad features - But do I
trust my children?
Avi
The community separates itself from mainstream society through its
traditional religious practices and distinctive attire of black hats,
coats and sidelocks for the men and long skirts and sleeves for the
women.
Like most other men in his community, Avi studies the Jewish
scriptures daily, keeps the Sabbath and eats only kosher food.
But he has not yet opted for the new religious adaptation to modern
technology that has swept the Haredi world in Israel.
Badge of observance
The kosher cellphone looks like an ordinary cellphone, can make and
receive calls, and may have a calculator and alarm clock.
One of the defining features of kosher mobiles is a rabbinical stamp
But it cannot send or receive text messages, browse the internet or
take photos - all activities that could potentially involve behaviour
considered “immodest” among Haredis.
For example, SMS capability could lead to the unwitting receipt of
mass text messages publicising secular events. It could also be used
as a method of illicit communication between male and female
teenagers.
And all photos of women are forbidden, as is accessing websites with
content deemed inappropriate.
The phone’s other defining feature is a rabbinical stamp of approval,
similar to those seen on kosher food items.
All the major Israeli cellphone companies have accommodated the
powerful Haredi constituency by providing kosher phones, and cheaper-
than-normal packages which only connect with other Haredi numbers.
As the companies have created distinct code prefixes to accompany the
kosher phone plans, the phone numbers have quickly become a badge of
religious observance.
Not only do some Haredi newspapers refuse to publish ads with non-
kosher phone numbers, but parents are worried their children will be
blacklisted by the shadchan, or matchmaker, if their numbers are not
kosher.
Banana filtered
“What do you associate with the Haredi community? You wear black
trousers, a white shirt and some sort of hat, but today the things
that define you have changed,” says Avi.
Protected surfing is calibrated differently for different Haredi
groups
He says he feels there is a sense that anyone who does not have a
kosher phone “should be excluded from society”.
“If you say you are associating yourself with us, please act
according to our codes, otherwise do not call yourself Haredi and do
not send your kids to our schools.”
But while they have managed to adapt the cellphone to their
lifestyles, Haredis have had a harder time with the internet.
Last year, an Orthodox rabbi and an Israeli technology executive
established an internet service provider (ISP) called Rimon, which
claims to be the only filtering service provider in Israel that
offers customised surfing packages.
The company says it cuts out pornography, violence, and gambling, and
then provides the user with five levels of further filtering, from
the “protected” level that blocks images of women in intimate apparel
to the “hermetic” level, which allows users to view only unchanging,
vetted websites like encyclopaedias.
There are many things on the internet that are not appropriate for me
as a Haredi woman, things I would prefer that my family and I didn’t
see or hear
Miriam
“If your kid puts ‘banana’ into Google, some of the first sites he’ll
get are porn,” explains Chairman Moshe Weiss. “Put banana into Google
on Rimon, and you get all the same sites without the porn.”
One Haredi sect, the Belz, which normally forbids online access, has
partially endorsed the use of Rimon, but only for those who need the
internet for business purposes.
The general rule for the local Haredi community still remains no
radio, no TV, no internet and no movies - though Rimon is hoping that
once it starts targeting the Haredi market that will change.
For now, its 15,000 subscribers are mostly secular and modern
Orthodox.
Self control
Miriam, a teacher living in Jerusalem, is one of many Haredi Jews who
do not have home web access.
An Orthodox Jewish life for men is one devoted to studying the
scriptures
She expresses concern over the amount of time people devote to
surfing the net, wasting time they could spend learning Torah or
doing good deeds.
Her main worry, however, is over the lack of control over content.
“There are many things on the internet that are not appropriate for
me as a Haredi woman, things I would prefer that my family and I
didn’t see or hear, like violence, pornography and inappropriate
sexual relations,” she says.
For Haredis, “inappropriate” means any physical contact between a man
and a woman who are not married.
But Avi, who says he needs the internet for his work in the tourist
industry, has unfiltered online access.
“I’m not afraid of the negative aspects because I grew up with
internet and I feel I can control myself not to use the bad
features,” he says.
“But do I trust my children?” he wonders aloud.
“When they are old enough to use it I will definitely have to re-
evaluate. I think then I might put filters on or use Rimon, or maybe
then I’ll even disconnect internet from the house altogether. It’s
just not worth the risk.”