Ultra-Orthodox Jews Rally For a More Kosher Internet 430
Hugh Pickens writes "Michael Grynbaum writes that 40,000 ultra-Orthodox Jewish men filed through the gates of Citi Field to discuss the dangers of the Internet. For the attendees, many of whom said they came at the instructions of their rabbis, it was a chance to hear about a moral topic considered gravely important in the Hasidic community: the potential problems that can stem from access to pornography and other explicit content on the uncensored, often incendiary Web. Schlomo Cohen, 24, said he came to Citi Field because the rally was a good way to remind his community to keep temptation at bay. 'Desires are out there,' said Cohen. 'We have to learn how to control ourselves.' The rally was sponsored by a rabbinical group, Ichud Hakehillos Letohar Hamachane, that is linked to a software company that sells Internet filtering software to Orthodox Jews. Those in attendance were handed fliers that advertised services like a 'kosher GPS App' for iPhone and Android phones, which helps users locate synagogues and kosher restaurants. 'No one here is a Luddite who denies the manifold benefits that technology has brought to mankind as a whole,' says Eytan Kobre, spokesman for the event. 'But at a certain point, a mature, thinking individual stops and says, "I've got to make a cost-benefit analysis [of] what ways it is enriching my life, [and] in what ways it is undermining it."'"
Re:...Or you could just not go to porn sites (Score:5, Interesting)
Yup. Just like it must be hard to walk past a good BBQ joint and smell those ribs and shoulders smokin'... don't wanna see it? Don't search for it or click on the link.
TV, facebook, shopping (Score:3, Interesting)
'Desires are out there,' said Cohen. 'We have to learn how to control ourselves.'
Why worry about internet pr0n when facebook, tv, shopping, and fattening foods are the exact same class of problem and more severe? Uncontrollable desires wasting lives, etc? I would have to look at a heck of a lot of pr0n to make up for watching TV for hours when I was a kid.
It seems to be a poorly prioritized concern. Once everyone is off FB, throws out their TV, skinny from a paleo/low carb diet, zeroed credit card and loan balances then it might be time to fret that someone out there might be having a good time and they've gotta stop it somehow.
Re:Listen to Schlomo (from TFA) (Score:5, Interesting)
While I was dating my wife (but still living with my parents), my parents belonged to an Orthodox temple. My wife (then-girlfriend) came over for a visit and my mother had to drop something off at the rabbi's house. When he heard that we were alone together, he got very worried and told my mother to go back home immediately.
This, plus other sermons the rabbi delivered, make me think that the ultra-orthodox live in fear that they are so weak-willed that they will give into desire/sin/whatever once the tiniest of opportunities present themselves. Thus, they make rules to prevent people from coming anywhere close to temptation. And then make rules to keep people from coming close to the rule which protects against temptation (lest they break that original rule). And then make rules to protect the rules which protect the rules which protect against temptation. Add in an adherence to tradition, even if the original source of temptation is gone, and this explains much of why they seem to have so many rules which don't make sense.
(Disclaimer: I'm actually pretty religious, but I decide which religious rules make sense for me to follow and ignore the ones that I think make no sense whatsoever.)
Since its not mentioned (Score:1, Interesting)
My rabbi spoke with me about this last week. The internet is really affecting the religious communities- it's causing a large number of families are getting torn apart. And it's not just porn, men aren't supposed to look at woman or even smell one's perfume. It's a really bad thing if an attractive woman in an ad is popping up on their screen.
And to all these knee-jerkers, there is no desire to censor or change "your" internet. This is a community of people looking for a way to accept an amazing product into their lives without threatening it. They are well within their rights to have this conference as it is really a serious topic for them...People have different ways of life than you
Read the Chaim Potok novels (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm not Jewish, but the author having been a conservative rabbi tells me they're probably fairly accurate portrayals. Take Asher Lev, for the religion to cause such strife and try to snuff out a young man's natural talent, you have to wonder if the religion is a net benefit to society. I know the story is fiction, but it is supposedly set within a realistic portrayal of a Hasidic community. On the other hand, you probably have this conflict within the conservative branch of any religion. This brings me to the quesiton, is religion in general a net benefit?
But I figure in the end, at least they're not bombing anybody. They're welcome to do what they want in their communities as long as they're not violating anybody's civil rights or demanding we change to accommodate their beliefs. Same for conservative Muslims here.
Re:...Or you could just not go to porn sites (Score:5, Interesting)
Fundies are notorious for limiting other people's choices because they find them disagreeable. You make it sound like we don't already have plenty of experience with people of this mindset.
I used to work with several Jews of varying degrees of fundamentalism. All of them were at a minimum of the 'cannot do anything that resembles work, including using electricity during the sabbath' variety. And me, being completely non-religious, got along fine with most of them (one guy was just a total asshole, but that had nothing to do with his beliefs. The other Jews didn't like him either). Jewish fundamentalists tend not to be of the evangelical sort. They have their rules, and they abide by them, but they didn't give a damn whether or not I followed them.
I have no objection to a group that wants to organize an opt-in censorship system for their own use.
Re:...Or you could just not go to porn sites (Score:4, Interesting)
As I already said, Jews do not generally impose their religious rules on non-Jews, and the ultra-orthodox are not an exception.
Yeah, sure [nypost.com] they don't [canada.com].