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Jerusalem - Zionism Rabbis Push For 'kosher' Internet on Cell Phones |
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Ynet learned that dozens of rabbis and educators from the Religious Zionism stream have recently signed on a petition demanding cellular companies to offer "kosher" internet packages to its customers. In exchange, they promise to support whichever company encourages the public to use this service exclusively.
Among those signed on the petition are rabbis spanning the whole spectrum of Religious Zionism, from Rabbi David Stav, chairman of Tzohar, all the way to Rabbi Yehoshua Shapira and Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, both associated with the nationalist haredi stream.
In their petition to the cellular companies, the rabbis explain that site-blocking services and the launch of Rimon Internet as a dedicated kosher internet provider were a fitting response to the risks of internet surfing, but "the world of the internet is not resting on its laurels. Today, you can connect to the internet, not just from home, but from nearly ever location, be it through wireless networks one can connect to in many public locations or through modern cellular devices."
In light of this, the rabbis asked that the companies cooperate with Rimon Internet in order to allow the rabbi-authorized company to supply them with "safe surfing" solutions through these channels as well.
One of the rabbis initiating the move is Rabbi Yehoshua Shapira, a prominent nationalist haredi rabbi. Last week, he called upon high school yeshivas to increase pressure put on communications companies to take action on the subject. "The first (company) to act on the issue and operate clean internet – we will put all of our collective weight into committing that students be in places that has filtered internet." Chairman of Yeshivot Bnei Akiva Rabbi Chaim Drukman reiterated the importance of this move.
Rabbi Shapira, one of the founders of Rimon Internet, explained in the past, "It is better to bring pork dripping with fat into the house and put it on the stove until its aroma fills the house than to connect to the internet." Today, he has been transformed and no longer thinks that waging war against the source of the temptation, which has become a necessary tool in nearly every Israeli household, is effective or correct.
As an educator who is daily exposed to the difficulties and distress of youth who surfed on pornography internet sites that "collapsed their spiritual world," he decided to launch the internet provide for kosher surfing, a move that he is trying to replicate in the cellular world.
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Read Comments (24) — Post Yours »
1
Nov 03, 2009 at 08:38 AM AuthenticSatmar Says:
Where are all the "modern" jews screaming about the taliban ways of the chareidim?
It seems now others are agreeing.
2
Nov 03, 2009 at 08:37 AM A. Nuran Says:
Total control of what people see, what they hear, who they talk to, what they read and, therefore, of what they think. And a small group of unaccountable people with a vested financial interest in the outcome get to dictate what words and thoughts are politically correct.
This is the culmination of Stalin and Mao's dream of total thought control. If "authentic Torah Judaism" cannot survive the merest whiff of freedom it is probably doomed.
3
Nov 03, 2009 at 09:12 AM Henoch Says:
“ Where are all the "modern" jews screaming about the taliban ways of the chareidim?
It seems now others are agreeing. ”
Actually the stronger question is: "Why have the Rabbonim in the "Chareidi" world changed their tune?"
4
Nov 03, 2009 at 09:11 AM torahyid Says:
great, I have been waiting for this, as there is currently no content filter for windows mobile.
5
Nov 03, 2009 at 09:10 AM this may help some Says:
to think if a few cell carriers offered a kosher internet connection would be the solution is naive at best... if kids want to get online on their own, they will
6
Nov 03, 2009 at 09:15 AM torahyid Says:
“ Total control of what people see, what they hear, who they talk to, what they read and, therefore, of what they think. And a small group of unaccountable people with a vested financial interest in the outcome get to dictate what words and thoughts are politically correct.
This is the culmination of Stalin and Mao's dream of total thought control. If "authentic Torah Judaism" cannot survive the merest whiff of freedom it is probably doomed. ”
what ARE you on about, what the... does this have to do with thought control? this is about blocking pornographic content, or do you allow your children unrestricted access to unfiltered internet? would you place them by a prostitution brothel? ma ya'aseh oiso haben velo yechto..
7
Nov 03, 2009 at 08:50 AM Anonymous Says:
“ Total control of what people see, what they hear, who they talk to, what they read and, therefore, of what they think. And a small group of unaccountable people with a vested financial interest in the outcome get to dictate what words and thoughts are politically correct.
This is the culmination of Stalin and Mao's dream of total thought control. If "authentic Torah Judaism" cannot survive the merest whiff of freedom it is probably doomed. ”
baloney, we need guidance in term sof our yiras shomayim, the morally debased value-system of the west is degenerate and totally antithtical to Kedusha- as to their vested interest, i cannot comment, but the principle is absolutely correct. would you bring a nest of vipers into your living room and 'hope' that your kid does not fall in??? (a Far Side cartoon, i seem to recall!!)
8
Nov 03, 2009 at 09:39 AM AYB Says:
Someone tell me why just owning a stam cell phone is so bad.
9
Nov 03, 2009 at 09:28 AM This is the right move Says:
Theres too much trash on the internet and its all too easy to bring up pornographic content by innocently googling something that should not bring up porn. Or in other words almost anything you google brings up porn these days! I think google should clean up their act and not allow porn on the internet. I'm all for free speech but everyone agrees that porn is a bad influence on society and a very real addiction.
10
Nov 03, 2009 at 08:43 AM yoelg Says:
the charedi rabbi's signed it already a year ago,
11
Nov 03, 2009 at 10:22 AM Anonymous Says:
The rabbonim seemd obcessed with the internet and pornographic sites. I guess for most of my friends and colleagues, this seems quite strange since both at work and home, we barely have time to get our work done, dirve the kids to after-school activities, and simply sit back occasionally and watch a ball game. Our kids get home late from yeshiva, spend most of the night on homework or talking to their friends and find the occasionaly porno site that gets through the filters, either dumb or boring or sometimes both. I guess these unemployed chareidim have nothing to do with their lives, have limited interactions with their spouses on a physical level so perhaps thats why they are so obcessed with porno and so determined to make it a priority for the rest of us.
12
Nov 03, 2009 at 10:59 AM Charlie Hall Says:
“ Where are all the "modern" jews screaming about the taliban ways of the chareidim?
It seems now others are agreeing. ”
First of all, Rabbis Shapira and Eliyahu are not "modern orthodox" by most reasonable definitions.
But that said, I'm probably about as "modern" as any of the regular frum commenters here, but I don't see what the problem would be. We are all mandated by Torah to distance ourselves from sin. There is no compulsion here, no Taliban-style forcing of people to follow one particular derech, no "thought control", just additional tools to allow us to put a more sturdy fence between ourselves and our yetzer hara. Thanks to internet filters, I haven't seen a porn site or email in many years, baruch HaShem! It is great that they may now be available for cell phones and I am glad that modern orthodox and charedi rabbis are both behind this.
(Rabbi Shapira's comparison to pork is interesting: There is actually no isur in benefitting from pork; the isur is to eat it! I don't think that the halachah is as lenient with porn.)
13
Nov 03, 2009 at 10:58 AM SimchaB Says:
Reply to #11: So as long as your kids find the porn sites "dumb and boring" that's fine with you. Ah broch! Also if you're so busy why are you obsessed with criticizing Chareidim?
p.s. Since you're seemingly not Chareidi I would expect you to know how to spell correctly!
14
Nov 03, 2009 at 11:35 AM Menachem Says:
“ Where are all the "modern" jews screaming about the taliban ways of the chareidim?
It seems now others are agreeing. ”
This, actually, highlights the difference between modern and chareidi. The chareidi instigated "kosher phones" have no internet and no text messaging. What's being suggested here is to provide internet with a filter, something that is encouraged throughout the educational spectrum (religious, non-religious, non-Jewish). This reflects the modern orthodox approach of taking the good out of the world vs the Chareidi approach of sticking one's head in the sand.
15
Nov 03, 2009 at 12:19 PM Lawyer Says:
“ Someone tell me why just owning a stam cell phone is so bad. ”
No one is talking about a "stam cell phone" if that means simply a phone with no internet access. (That's what I have. Not out of frumkeit, but who wants to "surf the net" from a phone?)
16
Nov 03, 2009 at 12:18 PM formally Says:
they are just scared for their power. Power in the hand of the masses diminishes the power to control.
Remember the church was against the printing press
also
The Rimon filter is garbage. they filtered out Rabbi Gil Student's Hirhurim as being treif.
They will filter out anything they do not agree with
17
Nov 03, 2009 at 01:12 PM Hope Says:
I just hope that it won't be another Purely voice cell phone with the terrible service they provide!!!.
18
Nov 03, 2009 at 01:11 PM Great Says:
Finally there will be some competition with the Purely voice cell phone, which has very bad service, and they are very expensive.
Does anyone know why they can't give good service if they are so expensive???.
19
Nov 03, 2009 at 03:16 PM gregaaron Says:
“ The rabbonim seemd obcessed with the internet and pornographic sites. I guess for most of my friends and colleagues, this seems quite strange since both at work and home, we barely have time to get our work done, dirve the kids to after-school activities, and simply sit back occasionally and watch a ball game. Our kids get home late from yeshiva, spend most of the night on homework or talking to their friends and find the occasionaly porno site that gets through the filters, either dumb or boring or sometimes both. I guess these unemployed chareidim have nothing to do with their lives, have limited interactions with their spouses on a physical level so perhaps thats why they are so obcessed with porno and so determined to make it a priority for the rest of us. ”
Are you out of your mind, or just out of touch with today's reality? I don't care what time your kids are getting home from yeshiva; if they want to find porn, they'll find it in 5 minutes - it doesn't necessarily need to be an hour-long avodah. And you don't mind if they see it once? What do you think happens after that first time? Why do you think a second time even happens to anyone? Once someone's on that side of the fence, it's a lot easier to stay there - in other words, if a person sees it once, they'll want to see it again (I don't care how good your kids are). And, assuming you have boys over the age of 11, they probably will not find it dumb and boring. "But I asked them," you'll say. "And I told them if anything inappropriate every comes up, they should tell me right away!"
Glad you've got the finger on the pulse of things. You're kids are so lucky that their father understands the challenges that face teenage kids (and older).
For your kids' sakes, please wake up.
20
Nov 03, 2009 at 03:07 PM Anonymous Says:
It would be nice to have a "kosher cell phone" offered and those who want it can buy and use it.
I've seen in Israel my sister-in-law who owns a cell phone she's not allowed to tell anyone about. She owned it from before it there were kosher phones and her kids school said only phone numbers from those phones are allowed. The old phone isn't broken. She surely does not access internet on it. But if her kids' schools find out she has it, they can be kicked out of school.
It's nice to have a phone if you want it. Once you MUST own it, there's too much control. And once a phone like this exists, if you live in the right communities, you will have to own in, OR ELSE.
21
Nov 03, 2009 at 03:38 PM Luke Says:
If you take away all personal control of people lives how do they ever learn to make a decision for themselves? Just a thought...
22
Nov 03, 2009 at 04:09 PM Anonymous Says:
“ Where are all the "modern" jews screaming about the taliban ways of the chareidim?
It seems now others are agreeing. ”
Since when are National Religious Jews "modern orthodox"? They may have a different Hashkafa from Chareidim, but they are not necessarily any less Frum.
23
Nov 03, 2009 at 04:42 PM ST Says:
“ to think if a few cell carriers offered a kosher internet connection would be the solution is naive at best... if kids want to get online on their own, they will ”
but why feed it to them?
24
Nov 05, 2009 at 01:23 PM Anonymous Says:
“ great, I have been waiting for this, as there is currently no content filter for windows mobile. ”
I don't know if you heard of something called Covenant Eyes. In a nutshell the way it works is that you install a program on your computer which monitors your internet activity. You pick a person called "An accountability partner" who might be your spouse or a friend, who gets a report of your internet activity once a week. If you uninstall the program your partner is notified. Recently they released a version of this program for Windows Mobile. I personally think that this is better than a filter which could be circumvented.