CAIRO – Alarmed by the growing use of the Inte among their followers, ultra-Orthodox Jewish rabbis are waging a war against the World Wide Web for leading believers astray and threatening their way of life. “We consider it to be very dangerous,” Yitzhak Goldknopf, an ultra-orthodox rabbi, told The Independent on Friday, December 11.
“It is something that is liable to cast down a lot of casualties.”
The rabbis have been campaigning against the use of Inte among their followers, warning that the technology leads believers astray.
Wall posters have sprung up in the ultra-orthodox Mea Shearim area of Jerusalem, warning followers against the use of the Inte.
“To our dismay, computers with all sorts of abominations have been found in the unsupervised flats, may God protect us,” says one of the posters, signed by the Committee for the Purity of the Neighborhood.
Vishnitz Hasidic, another ultra-orthodox group, threatened followers with exclusion from its education system if they install an inte connection.
Other attacks came in cursing sermons by prominent rabbis.
“This epidemic must be stopped,” Yisrael Hager, a leading rabbi, said in a recent address to followers.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews, who follow strict interpretations of Judaism, make up 8 to 15 percent of Israel's population.
They live in a reclusive community and generally shun the television, Inte and most radio stations.
Their life revolves around a strict dress code that has men sporting black coats, hats and long beards and women covering their heads, arms and legs.
The ultra-Orthodox Jews have also led violent protests against swimming pools, cinemas and other establishments they consider immoral.
Inte Ban
The anti-Inte drive also extended to include a demand for banning ultra-Orthodox sites.
“Many Jewish souls have already fallen into its trap,” 21 rabbis said in a joint letter submitted to the media Friday.
The rabbis said even sites meant for the arch-conservative religious community contained “lies and terrible impurity.”
“Recently, the so-called Haredi sites have gone overboard,” the letter says.
“They disseminate forbidden slander, gossip, lies, terrible impurity and abominations.”
Despite the rabbis’ drive, the number of ultra-orthodox Israelis going online is growing rapidly.
Bezeq, the leading Israeli phone company, said that one- quarter of ultra-orthodox households have a Bezeq inte connection.
“Inte use is growing all the time,” Dov Povarsky, editor-in-chief of the popular Bechadrei Charedim (“In the rooms of the ultra-orthodox”) website, said.
He said many Jews are against such Haredi notions.
“The rabbis are right that the inte is an instrument that can go in unwanted directions,” he said.
“But it is an instrument that cannot be ignored. I don't think they are really trying to stop it outright.”
Source: IslamOnline
“It is something that is liable to cast down a lot of casualties.”
The rabbis have been campaigning against the use of Inte among their followers, warning that the technology leads believers astray.
Wall posters have sprung up in the ultra-orthodox Mea Shearim area of Jerusalem, warning followers against the use of the Inte.
“To our dismay, computers with all sorts of abominations have been found in the unsupervised flats, may God protect us,” says one of the posters, signed by the Committee for the Purity of the Neighborhood.
Vishnitz Hasidic, another ultra-orthodox group, threatened followers with exclusion from its education system if they install an inte connection.
Other attacks came in cursing sermons by prominent rabbis.
“This epidemic must be stopped,” Yisrael Hager, a leading rabbi, said in a recent address to followers.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews, who follow strict interpretations of Judaism, make up 8 to 15 percent of Israel's population.
They live in a reclusive community and generally shun the television, Inte and most radio stations.
Their life revolves around a strict dress code that has men sporting black coats, hats and long beards and women covering their heads, arms and legs.
The ultra-Orthodox Jews have also led violent protests against swimming pools, cinemas and other establishments they consider immoral.
Inte Ban
The anti-Inte drive also extended to include a demand for banning ultra-Orthodox sites.
“Many Jewish souls have already fallen into its trap,” 21 rabbis said in a joint letter submitted to the media Friday.
The rabbis said even sites meant for the arch-conservative religious community contained “lies and terrible impurity.”
“Recently, the so-called Haredi sites have gone overboard,” the letter says.
“They disseminate forbidden slander, gossip, lies, terrible impurity and abominations.”
Despite the rabbis’ drive, the number of ultra-orthodox Israelis going online is growing rapidly.
Bezeq, the leading Israeli phone company, said that one- quarter of ultra-orthodox households have a Bezeq inte connection.
“Inte use is growing all the time,” Dov Povarsky, editor-in-chief of the popular Bechadrei Charedim (“In the rooms of the ultra-orthodox”) website, said.
He said many Jews are against such Haredi notions.
“The rabbis are right that the inte is an instrument that can go in unwanted directions,” he said.
“But it is an instrument that cannot be ignored. I don't think they are really trying to stop it outright.”
Source: IslamOnline
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