Monday 7 July 2014

Haver

Via the Jerusalem Post :
"A project was recently launched by hard-line sectors of the haredi community in Beit Shemesh to discourage the use of the Internet and the devices that enable easy access to it. The idea behind the initiative, called “Haver,” is to encourage members of the haredi public to sign a declaration in front of their community or synagogue rabbi that they either have no access to the Internet at all, or that they have only rabbinically approved devices, with content filters, which they need for work purposes. 
Anyone signing this declaration will be awarded a membership certificate which, in the language of the publicity material, “testifies that he counts himself among those who fear the word of God.”Haredi rabbis and communal leaders have waged an ongoing and increasingly fierce battle against access to the Internet, in large part due to the proliferation and availability of pornography.The Haver initiative has only just been rolled out and a big membership drive was launched on Thursday, with many hundreds of people signing up."
The funny thing is that on our computers, there is software, both in the office and at home can block disreputable sites,so that is all this group's Posek or Rabbis need to say, if that is the issue/problem/concern. 

The article continues : 
"Concerns have been voiced, however, about the second stage of the Haver project. After the initial sign-up period, lists of those who have signed up will be posted at synagogues in the haredi neighborhoods of the city, which organizers say will be “to glorify the names of the members.” 
It is feared that membership in the Haver program could be used as a de facto way to determine someone’s haredi identity and that those who do not sign up will be excluded from communal benefits such as access to community charities, schools and other institutions".
Ah, so is  this really because the community leaders here wish to control information that their people read on the net & don't want them to be influenced by other, outside ideas . That just won't work; the Mullahs of Iran try to police ideas on the internet, so does China. But not even they can completely control the flow of information on the web. It is futile to think that you can do so and it is better in my view to have frank and full discussions about ideas or theology, even heretical ones. Shutting down debate or other views without any discussion or explanation means, to me, going from a religious community to the slippery slope of a cult.

Discuss.

11 comments:

  1. You Should Know Better7 July 2014 at 23:23

    Typical anti-haredi bigotry. And you claim to be Orthodox!

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  2. How is this post anti-Haredi 'bigotry'?? I guess if you wish to follow this project you won't be able to post here. How do you feel about that?

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  3. This is nothing to do with porn, but more to do with the control of information and the desire of this community leadership not to be 'tempted' by the outside world of non-Haredism. I can't see how they can have this both ways. I do wonder if they believe that Jews should live on the moon, lest we be corrupted by the world. The sad thing is and we've all said it, how can Jews show Gd to people, if we voluntarily impose ourselves into our own ghettos? It seems to strongly contradict Judaism to me, which is ironic as this is support to be the authentic pure version of.

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  4. Good point Dave! The Haredi won't be able to troll forums if they are banned from non-work internet usage or whatever. Or perhaps people will get special permissions to troll opposition blogs?

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  5. Where is the bigotry in suggesting this is about control of information, not control of morality. Besides which, it is a poor assumption on the holy ones, if the leadership thinks their people are all logging on to watch porn all day!

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  6. That's a good question: when do you cease being a religion and begin being a cult?

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  7. We'll see. It is just one community, not the whole of it. But it would be a delicious irony if this were to be the case around the totality of the Haredi world.

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  8. That is probably in the eye of the beholder, but this is clearly something which I would not want to be a part of.

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  9. How is this is a bigoted post? You do not own Orthodoxy, whatever you claim or think.

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  10. Ironic would be an understatement

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