Official Haredi Anti-Internet Rally Booklet

All the heavily one-sided information you'll ever need on why the Internet is evil.

Here's the entire 100 page 'booklet' as a PDF file:

Download Anti-Internet Asifa Brochure 5-20-2012

Comments

[MoishieCohen]

Also found this.
True or otherwise, it makes an interesting read:

The preparations for the Asifa have been in the works for over a year. The idea for the Asifa was hatched by a Litvisher Askan who recently appeared on the horizon, Reb Nechemya Gottlieb, whose goal is to create an easy and respectable livelihood, so that he can marry off his children with sufficient money and without any extra stresses. His plan is to open an organization or company, whatever it will be called, that will have control over the technology of the entire spectrum of Chareidi Jewry, and the company would make a lot of money, either through collecting money from people who would like to support such a holy and proper organization, and also through charging to install filters and other spiritual protections for all computers. But how does one insure that all of Klall Yisroel will submit to Mr. Gottlieb? This was Gottlieb’s idea, to make an Asifa supported by the Gedolei Torah and Klall Yisroel, and to invite all sectors of Chareidi Jewry, and there to force everyone to submit themselves to the new organization, and through the strong foundation established by the important Asifa, R’ Nechemya will become a well respected Jew, and also a successful businessman. However, as it happened, he had trouble gathering support for the Asifa from the important Askanim, not to mention the holy Gedolei Yisroel, whom R’ Nechemya could not entice to lend support. Accordingly, over the course of a few long months, it became apparent that his idea would fail, to the extent that, after Pesach, not one Kehilla in Klall Yisroel agreed to join in the Asifa, which was a colossal failure for R’ Nechemya and also for the Gedolei Yisroel who were involved in trying their best to stem the plague of technology.

At the same time that R’ Nechemya saw himself in great danger of failing in his plan to make a lot of money, a number of private computer technicians were continuing to perform their jobs without any connection to the upcoming Asifa, and they scheduled an event in the Karlsburger Bais Hamedrash, where people could come and obtain filters for their computers to restrict access to the internet. This event was a phenomenal success and was endorsed by HaGoan Reb Yechezkel Roth and other Rabbanim, and through the night, the technicians protected and made kosher hundreds of computers. Nechemya went wildly mad, and determined to do everything possible to prevent such events from taking place in the future even though such events could save hundreds, and possibly thousands of Jews from the internet, this was not important to Nechemya because his goal was easy business and these events stood to destroy his livelihood. So he went to the length and breadth to uproot the group of technicians who were working for free [at these events], with all types of terror and pressure until he succeeded in stopping further events [at which filters were being installed on computers] from occurring. (The chutzpa is incomprehensible, because today, Nechemya is taking credit for the Asifa, when his only connection with it was that he successfully brought it about.) Returning now to the Internet Asifa, which appeared to be a catastrophe and failure and an embarrassment for the Gedolei Yisroel who became intertwined with it, it was now a number of weeks after Pesach and they still had not sold one ticket, so they gathered a house full of experienced Chasideshe Askanim who B”H put the Asifa on the map, and now, weeks after the new Askanim became involved, the Asifa is sold out.

[SkepticalYid]

Posted by: Bob Guthrie | May 22, 2012 at 04:54 PM

Remember Yigal Amir? The man who blew Rabin's head to bits? He was not an anti-Zionist haredi.

Just one example, there are others.

[jancsipista]

MoishieCohen-I HAD A CHANGE OF HEART I SEE YOU ARE A MUCH MORE INTELLIGENT PERSON THEN I REALIZED FORGIVE ME FOR CALLING YOU A--P SORRY.

[No Light]

Moishie- I'm sorry you were fooled, I really am.

The reason we were suspicious of the motivations behind the asifa is that we've seen it all before. Truth is not a plentiful commodity among gedolim.

Your sincere questions were clearly read as the usual disingenuous Haredi apologism. Surely after encountering certain bilious trolls here, you can see what I mean?

We're not a bad bunch, well... once you've eliminated the rape apologists, the brainwashed cultists, the trolls, and the winterised-truck brokers.

[Larry]

Great line from the booklet:

'So much of our nation was lost during the
Holocaust because of their refusal to stare the danger in the face and respond appropriately. “It won’t happen to us. It can’t be as bad as they’re making it out. Come on, this is the 20th century. Who really believes such medieval stories today?”'

I've posted the booklet on scribed so you can read it without downloading the huge pdf: http://www.scribd.com/doc/94497162

[Abracadabra]

I just want to know what Deremes is doing on this website since the internet is now assur for anything but for work. Shmarya - Does Deremes work for you now?

[Abracadabra]

If you skim through the booklet you will find that there are footnotes. Most of the footnotes are internet references.

You gotta love the hypocracy!

But the best was the live-streaming of the event on the internet.

Poor Gedolim - they don't know what the **** is hitting them - do they?

[Abracadabra]

One of the best quotes from a speaker at the Asifa, Rabbi Wachsman:

"there are thousands here tonight who have no shaychas to internet. Don't think that only a black hatter in Lakewood, or a man in a shtreimel in Williamsburg can do without. Even a Yid in a blue shirt can!"

Quote is from here, and there is other good stuff in this article as well:

http://onthemainline.blogspot.com/2012/05/tilting-at-windmills-my-attempt-to-make.html

[No Light]

Abracadabra - you think Deremetic is Shmarya's haus bucher?

In charge of warming the toilet seat, checking the mail for letter bombs (by opening it), and pre-trolling each article uploaded to this site. Any piece that doesn't instigate. at least three of the following:

screaming,
flailing,
pants-soiling,
accusations of alcoholism,
cries of "racism" toward Haredim,

is refined until it does.

[Prag]

Thank you for the link, this booklet makes for an interesting read.

That long multi-generation story was well written, and the point well made, but it's so easy to blame the downfall of an overachiever and over-acclaimed young boy on the internet, how about putting on the unhealthy amount of pressure to be the "best" in yeshivah, the "best" in middos etc..I think that this more than the internet or anything else is what drives the youth away.

[Jeff]

You know I saw a documentary on Chasidim and one of the people featured was a Satmar fish monger. While I am sure that in terms of hashkafa and halacha he and I are quite incompatible, he came off as one of the sweetest, simplest Yidden I have seen.

He was uncomplicated, clearly loved being a religious Jew, and genuinely expressed ahavat Yisrael. As an individual I could appreciate him and felt great affection for him. To me, it was the good face of Satmar, and it made me happy to see.

Posted by: Yaakov | May 22, 2012 at 03:01 PM

Yes, A Life Apart. I remember that man.

Again - you give them far too much credit.

[Yaakov]

Jeff:

I try very hard to give credit where credit is due. I have no doubt that I would not be able to sustain a community relationship with that man but as an individual, and in the context of his value system, I see merit.

This merit does not excuse the negative things that are also present, but I don't have to keep a scorecard in dealing with people. I can love and enjoy them even with their flaws and errors. I can agree with the good and argue against the bad when I see it.

If I was going to keep a moral-ethical ledger and constantly update the "balance" for every person I encounter, I couldn't live with anyone, not even myself. So, instead, I focus on bolstering the good and diminishing the bad as best I can, always keeping foremost in my mind that I am dealing with another human being, a person, like myself, imperfect but sharing my essential human experience.

I hasten to add that I am always an advocate of self defense, and I am not foolish. If someone defects, and shows that they are dangerous, I don't trust them and I don't harm myself for their benefit. On the other hand, if someone is just like most of us: sometimes confused and sometimes lucid; sometimes generous and sometimes mean, well, that's being human—and frankly, I don't see much on this earth worth anything aside from people.

[Yaakov]

I wonder what purpose it serves to make fun of someone's chosen name? Argumentum ad hominem is low stuff. It usually signals and abandonment of rationality and a disregard for the fact that one is dealing with another human being, just as capable of suffering injury as ourselves.

[Jeff]

and frankly, I don't see much on this earth worth anything aside from people.

Posted by: Yaakov | May 23, 2012 at 07:04 AM

I don't see much on this earth worth anything, including people.

[Yaakov]

Jeff:

You've mentioned this before. It hurts me to read it again, but I can always hope something will change your mind.

[Jeff]

Well, Yaakov, if their Invisible Friend exists, he's had 55 years in which to do so.

Doesn't speak well of him, really.

[Yaakov]

Jeff:

What does this have to do with God? Putting aside theology, my position doesn't depend on any deity. I am talking about humanity, and the importance of shared human experience, and of empathy.

God is a different question entirely, and for what I am talking about that needn't enter into it.

[Jeff]

If he exists - and I'm convinced he does not - he's entirely responsible for human suffering. Free will is irrelevant.

And at the end of the day, this is a blog about the foibles of religious people.

Shared human experience? I have little to nothing in common with most people. We lack a common experiential vocabulary. We're speaking entirely different languages.

Emapthy? I have yet to see it manifested in any significant manner.

I agree with the Calvinists - humanity is inherently depraved (of course, that is the only thing about which they and I agree).

[ghj]

As a frum Jew, I always thought that the point of all the talmud torah is to learn to be able to control yourself. These jokers have and are making a laughing stock of us in front of the whole world.

In addition to that, this blatant public display that women are nothing more than appendages to cook, clean, and have kids is another great hillul Hashem.

When the telephone came around, real gedolim didn't ban it because it could be used for lashon hara.

There is so much Torah being learned on the web--I guess that these bozos are just upset that it's not coming from them.

[Jeff]

These jokers have and are making a laughing stock of us in front of the whole world.

My understanding is that that is also "assur" - but like all fundamentalists, they pick and choose. They only follow the rules that are convenient.