London – Kosher phones — adapted to prevent access to the Internet — have finally arrived in London with the blessing of the strictly Orthodox rabbinate.
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Rose Communications, a company in Stamford Hill, north London, is inviting customers to trade in their old mobiles free for the new handsets, which can also be modified to exclude the text messaging service.
Although kosher phones have been available in Israel for several years, it took the efforts of a local non-profit organisation, Hakol Kol — meaning “voice only” — to introduce them to London.
Maxi Rose, director of Rose Communications, said he had imported a couple of thousand of the mobiles which have been modified by Israeli engineers.
“We are astonished by the demand and the willingness of the people to give up their all-singing, all-dancing phones for the new handsets,” he said. “We’ve had inquiries from non-Jewish organisations who want them for their kids.”
Rabbinical leaders have been concerned to protect children from unsuitable information accessible via the internet, while a problem with text messaging, Mr Rose explained, has been unsolicited messages sent by companies trying to promote adult sex material.
In Israel, he said, kosher phones had succeeded “beyond anyone’s belief” with even non-Orthodox parentsbuying them.
The rabbinate of the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations issued a notice to say that from now on, only internet- and message-free mobiles should be used.
If anyone required a phone with Internet access for business, they should consult a qualified rabbi first, the Union authorities said. There was “no permission to use it for matters which are not connected to earning a living” and a person should not be seen with it “in public places like shuls… and weddings”.
They added: “For their private use they should have a second mobile which is approved by the rabbis. ”Text message connections were also “very dangerous” and had “caused much destruction in important families”, they warned.
Young boys and girls, they said, should not be given mobiles at all.
in Israel the kosher plans sre much cheaper and get as low as 7 agurot per minute(kosher pelephone to kosher pelephone)
Haven’t these people heard of blocking internet access on regular phones. I blocked it on my kid’s phones – no problem.
Oh thank God,all of our community’s problems are solved!
When will the rabbonim let parents be parents instead of trying the father us all?
I think they should ban phones all-together do to the enormous amount of loshon hora spoken on them.
all phones can b kosher. u have to choose to have the internet on the phones. you can get a regular phone from any phone company with no internet. not a big deal.
had “caused much destruction in important families” . . . What is THAT supposed to mean? And what exactly is an unimportant family!? the thought of dividing people into “important” and “unimportant” families reeks of a divisive and condescending attitude that is far too common in the chareidi community.
Relax. I assume he said “Chashuv”, as in “noteworthy”, NOT as in “Important”.
The clear (to me) meaning is that even people brought up in strict homes can be affected by this issue and so they, too, benefit from Kosher phones.
Kosher phones! now that’s a great idea. Well, i’am wondering whats next: a kosher Ipod that wont play lipa Schmeltzer songs (please don’t steal this idea!).
I have Sprint and I blocked internet access If i wanted i could block the text messaging as well. My son has a phone he cant change anything without it showing up on my bill.
Glad to see that the Rabbis have a sense of priority for this important decision, rather than, say, lowering the price of their chickens.
It’s good to know that in this day and age we have so many people who are constantly on guard ‘advising’ us, as adults, what we can and cannot do so that we dont have to think for ourselves.
it’s all business. Convince some rabonim and rosh yeshivos, etc. and viola!!
I just wish that I would have thought of this idea first and peddled it off.
Reply to # 12
When you see it on your bill its to late already
Reply to # 12
When you see it on your bill its to late already
Haven’t these people heard of blocking internet access on regular phones. I blocked it on my kid’s phones – no problem.
Sorry to tell you, but i have heard leider a few stories that boys and girls went off the yidishe way because of their phones, it started with internet, but it finished with sms! So even if you block the internet, wrong sms can come in and go out of a phone. And if the rabbunim see that this is an important issue dont be more clever then them and listen to them now, better then to have to run to them when its too late for advise how to handle the case……….