Ultra-Orthodox rabbis in Israel are losing the Internet war

 Washington Post    Ultra-Orthodox rabbis have waged a battle in recent years to stop the Internet from infiltrating their insular communities.

Their efforts have included declarations that smartphones aren't kosher, conferences on the evils of the Internet and rabbinic edits demanding that the pious stop using WhatsApp.

But the rabbis, it seems, are losing the fight.

Research by Israel’s Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has found that ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel use the Internet just as much as anyone else. And just like most others online, they gossip, consult with one another about life, discuss issues in their community and share their feelings on all manner of subjects.

In fact, the ultra-Orthodox, or Haredim, even like to tweet, and Facebook pages are abundant. [...]

With the rabbis clearly losing the battle, there have been some creative solutions to at least control the phenomenon. For example, some rabbis now allow for the use of “kosher” smartphones, enabling access to email and online bank accounts but blocking or filtering “problematic” websites.