Haredi Rabbis Announce Citywide Ban On Unfiltered Internet Use

Rabbis in Beitar Illit demand residents use only haredi-filtered Internet. Schools told to only accept students from homes with no Internet or filtered Internet.

Here is VIN's writeup, based on Channel 2's report:

Beitar Illit Rabbonim Announce City-Wide Ban Against Open Internet
Israel Ch. 2 / VIN News Benjamin Slobodkin

Jerusalem – Rabbonim in Beitar Illit announced all residents must sign an agreement not to be connected to unfiltered Internet, according to a report on Hebrew-language website Haredim.

At a central gathering held in the city this week it was also decided that “all Torah and education institutions and school principals must see to it that every student at their institutions comes from a home free of [unfiltered] Internet.”

HaRav Dovid Tzvi Ordentlich said, “This is a thousand times more dangerous than the threats Am Yisroel faces from without and from within. The Internet is like a tidal wave threatening to swallow up and endanger the entire edifice of charedi Jewry that has been built in this generation through so much hard work. The issue must not be taken off the agenda. The warning must be sounded all the time and everywhere.”

According to HaRav Tzvi Braverman, “Fifty percent of the problems in the city – sholom bayis and chinuch habonim – stem from the Internet. There is a hidden blaze in the city. An atom bomb underneath the city. We cannot have a situation here in Beitar in which an ehrlicht Yid sends his children to Torah-based institutions and there’s something worse than television. This is the battle of the generation.”
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Almost all of the city’s rabbonim took part in the gathering, which was initiated by the beis din headed by HaRav Ordenlich. “Those who are compelled to be hooked up to the Internet for parnossoh reasons, etc., must be linked to the filtered, controlled Internet,” the rabbonim announced, adding that on Shabbos Shuvoh the rabbonim at every shul would discuss these takonos.

Comments

[sage]

Who do these idiots think they are fooling?

It's just a strong-armed attempt to keep their followers totally ignorant of the rampant corruption and criminal activity which pervades their "so-called" leadership.

[harold]

Considering the amount of smut freely available on the internet, having the ability to filter internet content is a desireable option. Goodness if it weren't for the spam filtering capability offered by my email routing service (pobox.com) I would have to deal with the more than 2,000 emails that "pobox.com" discards from my email account DAILY!

[Norm]

He is correct that the internet is a threat to Haredi Judaism just like Gallileo, Spinosza, Newton, Darwin Einstein and for that matter Guttenberg were threats

[Ahavah]

They do know you can purchase two internet connections for your home or office, right? One with the filter shown on the bill that you can show them, and the other so you can read all about their backward, unhygenic, misogynist beliefs, their racism and ignorance - anytime you want. This is why uneducated people shouldn't be in charge of anything. Their social terrorism is ineffective, to say the least.

[sage]

Yes, Ahavah.

But how are they going to enforce this assinine edict?

They would have to post "Internet Policemen" in every home.

Not doable, IMHO.

[WoolSilkCotton]

People can also WiFi in public areas.

[ah-pee-chorus]

what does it say about your way of life if it can't withstand knowledge and information?
the emperor has no clothes and even the zombie cultists might wake up if the blindfold over their eyes is removed. i would be in favor of israel providing free wireless so this type of attempted control would have even less chance of success.

[Mr. Apikoros]

I'm sure the ultra-Orthodox never, never download porn off the Internet.

Well, hardly ever.

[FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican]

Well, you know for sure this site is on their blacklist.

[WoolSilkCotton]

FGBA, LOL!

[ah-pee-chorus]

as soon as eyeglasses become available which will filter out EVEYTHING but religious texts and rabbis those will be required as well. who said they are against technology?

[ah-pee-chorus]

breaking news!!!

residents will now have to comply with these additional rules.

1. all phone lines shall be wiretapped by the rebbeim.
2.no conversations will take place with non-haredim without a rabbi present.
3. travel to a non-haredi town or city will result in excommunication.
4.you will like these rules and thank the rebbeim for caring about you.

[sage]

Just ruminating to myself:

There might be a useful place in the next world for these folks.

Their task would be to conduct a 24/7 "Heavenly Comical Circus of the Absurd" to furnish entertainment of sorts.

[concerned beitar resident]

I will not go back to getting my porn from the newstand!!! I simply refuse to!!!
I still remember those dark early 90s days, having to walk to the newstand at 2 am and looking 40 dozen times to make sure no one spotted me. Then having to quickly grab one of the shmutzies like a damn gonev and pay the gold-tooth greasy Sefaradishe cashier, looking on the floor the whole time, sweating like I was in the shvitz, while that mamzer handed me my change with a big, knowing smile on his face. I mamash challashed after reading these takkanas. Roboino shel oilam: HELP!!!

[Uzi M]

"breaking news!!!

residents will now have to comply with these additional rules.

1. all phone lines shall be wiretapped by the rebbeim.
2.no conversations will take place with non-haredim without a rabbi present.
3. travel to a non-haredi town or city will result in excommunication.
4.you will like these rules and thank the rebbeim for caring about you."

You mean to tell me these rules are not in effect already?! Wow...they must be slacking off.

[effie]

I was curious about the town and looked it up on wiki and found this:

Beitar Illit was established in 1985 and initially settled by a small group of young families from the religious zionist yeshiva of Machon Meir, including that of Rabbi Reuven Hass (now of Beit El). As Beitar Illit began to grow, an influx of Haredi Jewish families came to predominate while the original group moved on.

Now, what do they mean by the original group moved on? Why would they abandon the settlement they built to someone else? I couldn't find any additional info on the subject.

[effie]

Oh, these are the people who freaked out about the poor little Chihuahua.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/990640.html

[ah-pee-chorus]

interesting article. thanks effie.

[Hometown Postville]

And how do THEY know what evils lurk on the web???????? Arggggghh! SOMEONE has to do the nasty job of identifying those porn sites!

[Yossel]

Hold on a minute folks, the article just says that they're filtering out certain sites- but it isn't specific as to which ones are being blocked. Who's to say that they're filtering out porn at all?? :-)

[R]

They will soon have to use internet cafe`s so their kids can attend school.

[nobody]

Allowing a filtered internet in the home seems like a progressive reform to me. Before this it seemed that you had to claim you had no internet at all in order to get into haredi schools. And the filter keeps smut out, not "information" despite the smug commentators here.

[Uzi M]

"And the filter keeps smut out, not "information" despite the smug commentators here."

You are a million % wrong. I used to work in computers and filters can, and do, keep certain "information" out.

[ah-pee-chorus]

nobody-

read this....+++ A third, more restrictive filtering model is that of YeshivaNet, which provides the highest level of protection. Developed initially to provide yeshivas with limited access to the internet in order to purchase books and supplies, YeshivaNet’s services are also available to businesses and individuals. YeshivaNet provides what is called a "whitelisted web," or access only to sites approved by the company's internet mashgikhim. If customers require access to certain sites, they must submit them to the mashgiah, who determines whether or not they should be provided with access. The founder of YeshivaNet, told me that he "decapitates the internet." No searching is permitted. There is no access to Google, Yahoo or any other search engine. Access is given to places of business, such as banks and respectable clothing stores. +++

taken from.. http://modiya.nyu.edu/handle/1964/265

[shneerhere]

Welcome to the real world. Now Charedi men can struggle with their yetzer haRa just like everybody else... except they guy who voluntarily turns off youporn is, to me, on a higher level than the guy avoids it merely because its unavailable anyway.

[RJBZ]

They are asking the children to snitch...through the 'principals and teachers'...effective...

[Yoel Mechanic]

Guttenberg is not a threat, and historically Jews were very interested in the printing press for distribution of Torah materials.

[Yoel Mechanic]

I think turning off the porn in internet is a fine idea. However, the cure has hazards that could be worse than the problem it seeks to eliminate. A small group of individuals acting as guardians decide what to block on internet, but the free flow of information must be protected. Who is watching guarding these guardians that they don't pull a fast one and start to block political or scientific information they deem corrupting? The responsibility of that decision must rest with each individual. Therefore I would vote against this decision, and encourage others to over-rule it. Bottom line: the dangers to internet censorship (even private censorship) far outweigh the dangers of letting porn get through where each family must filter the porn out on their own.