In recent years the Internet has made inroads in the ultra-Orthodox sector, much to the chagrin of its leadership. As far as the leaders are concerned, the Internet is a disaster — it represents an all-out threat against good old ultra-Orthodox separatism, its social and community circles and its family and modesty values. They believe the Internet encourages exposure to content that contradicts the Torah and Jewish halachic law.

The ultra-Orthodox community fully understood about a decade ago that the Internet was going to be a problem, holding its first anti-Internet rally in the ultra-Orthodox town of Bnei Brak in 2006 with the participation of rabbis and educators. Two years earlier, in 2004, the ultra-Orthodox had already set up a “rabbinical council on matters of media” and a “kosher” cellphone was developed for the ultra-Orthodox — a device that can only be used to make and get calls, without access to the Internet and to “content services” that at the time included chat rooms and call centers that supplied sports news and gossip.

Since then, the ultra-Orthodox struggle against the Internet has intensified. Granted, a clear majority of the sector has joined the smartphone era since the 2007 launch of the iPhone. But unlike 2004, when the ultra-Orthodox were rapidly offered a “kosher” version, the ultra-Orthodox leadership was not so quick in providing an alternative to the smartphone, which proliferated somewhat clandestinely throughout the ultra-Orthodox sector. In recent years, more and more ultra-Orthodox Jews carry such devices in their pockets. Initially they were mostly used by those who went out to work and required access to email and instant messaging, but soon they spread to those who don’t need those services.

In 2012, digital experts from the ultra-Orthodox sector did develop a kosher smartphone, but sales were restricted to business people and others who needed such phones, as determined by a community rabbi. Solutions were also offered for domestic use of the Internet with various content-blocking software installed on home computers.