Kosher Cellphone

I find this so interesting, and admire them for being so strong in their faith.

BBC NEWS
> 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.
>
> 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.
>
> 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.
>
> 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."
> Story from BBC NEWS:
> http://news. bbc.co.uk/ go/pr/fr/ -/2/hi/middle_ east/7636021. stm
>
> Published: 2008/10/06 07:58:21 GMT