There are dozens of signs posted in Tiveria and Tzfas in proximity of mekomos kedoshim and public areas instructing persons with iPhones and similar internet devices not to enter. Maariv reports this is leading to increased tensions between non-frum visitors and opponents of the smartphones.
The photo, appearing in Maariv, was taken by a non-frum woman who was angered, explaining “no one has a monopoly on holy sites!” The sign shown is on the approach road to the tziyun of Rav Meir Bal Haness in Tiveria.
[Photo – maariv]
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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18 Responses
Can we all go there with smartphone to protest their insanity?
Do they have “No Entry to Pedophiles” or “No Entry to Thieves” signs?
I was in Bnei Brak three weeks ago and saw banners strung in front of a very famous shul saying, “Eyn k’nissah l’baalei iPhone”. Translated, “No entry to iPhone owners”. Note, it did not say iPhones may not be brought in. It banned the owners of such devices. This is not the forum to debate the merits of such devices. My point is the triumphalism. Are Jews now to be credentialed to pray? What happened to “Ani materim l’hispalalel im ha’avaryanim?” “We are permitted to pray along with the sinners” I regret that I did not paste that on the banner. Perhaps it only applies on Yom Kippur? Who are we to judge the tzidkus of another Jew? We wonder why the talus lasts. We need to look at ourselves first and not be so judgemental. As we judge others, so Hashem judges us.
Why do we in the Chareidi world keep shooting ourselves in the foot? Whenever we do these kinds of things we bolster the anti-Chareidi movement. The whole Yesh Atid – Bayit Yehudi debacle we are in now, can be laid at the feet of the sikrikim in RBS and the refusal of some in the Chareidi world to condemn them. We do foolish things and then we complain that people are against us!!
Does someone own these kevorrim to make up rules?
Who owns these mekomos hakodeshim?
So insane these kannoim signs and statements.
A chutzpah! these zealots own the kvorim of our holiest leaders? HKBH sent a bas kol telling people this is right?
A symptom of a larger problem.
The best way to deal with this nonsense is simply to ignore it. Go in with your iPhone [turned off or to vibrate only] and daven. The sickos who are running this campaign want it to be discussed everywhere as though it is something important. Don’t give them that satisfaction. Close the blog on this subject now!
marketing genius at work: they give these signs out to every kid that asks for them and the kids (or teens) hang them up as shtick. They kids, at least, have no ideological stake here, and yet a few individuals create a national campaign this way. Again, pure genius!
barry sly
are you proud of walking around with a device in your pocket that is one click away from all toeivos shebiolam and you know what to click to get there. are you so confident in your level of kedusha that you would never fall in a moment of weakness. so how could you take the chance and walk arounfd with a ticking time bomb and be proud of it
most ppl with smartphones have no filter AND DONT WANT ANY FILTER!!
nebuch
The same mindless (and anonymous) rabbonim who put their names on kol korehs they haven’t read and don’t understand are probably responsbile for this absolutely stupid rule which cannot be enforced. Are they going to outlaw Iphones but approve BBs and Android devices? Will they have a separate guard a the security gate inspecting telephones along with the real guard searching for bombs? Just when you think this lunatic fringe of the Chareidi movement cannot get any dumber, than prove us wrong.
A few weeks ago one of these signs appeared in front of my building in Jerusalem. I ripped it down. No one asked me for permission to deny entry to my building to a certain class of Jews.
The two accompanying signs that argued against iPhones I left up; it’s a perfectly legitimate argument to make. It seems I’m more liberal than some; within an hour they were gone as well!
#10. I’ll tell you what I use my Android phone, other than what a kosher phone does, for Waze, so I don’t accidently turn into an Arab Village and get killed and to check the bus schedule when away from home and i’m not driving. Oh, and I also have an app that translates some hebrew words that I may not understand. What a terrible device!
Here is the issue; if someone has the inclination to do something, they will figure a way to do it whether they have a smart phone or not. This craziness is brought to you by the same people who protect child molesters and thieves and make excuses for them.
What about the questions why Hashem doesn’t destroy all forms of avodah zoro? The answer was that Hashem would have to destroy mankind, since people worshipped the sun, moon and all kinds of other craziness. You can’t protect everyone from everything without destroying the good. All these insane chumrah’s effectively create another religion. This is not Yiddishkeit and these people have lost their minds.
One more question for you. You have internet access, isn’t that worse than a smart phone? We will hear the thud of you throwing your computer out the window? I don’t think so, so it’s time to get off your high horse.
was the picture taken with a smartphone?
Its one thing to own an smartphone and there is another thing of using a smartphone in a holy place.it is understandable to ask people not to use their phones in a holy place because it is a lack of derech eretz but to stop them from even coming in is going overboard its a frumkiet to control other people lives.
it a sad truth but when mosiach comes the first thing people will do will be taking pictures of him and posting it on facebook and instagram or creating moshiach app
i agree 100%, how dare one enter intp a makom kadosh with his tumadika device. all u people are ranting because you are guilty of owning an iphone or android device. all of you are bias, yes the gedolei yisroel said that smartphones are assur, especially without a filter, so who do you people think you are that you can blast these people who are just trying to keep mekomei kedusha kodosh! we all know what happens when one goes to davening with his phonem some how it comes out in the middle of his shemoneh esrei to check an email, and then somehow during kedusha! look yourselves in the mirror and be honest with yourselves, “am I being the best jew i possibly cna be? am I serving Hashem the way I am supposed to be? am I doing the ratzon of Hashem?”, cheshbon hanefesh is the key to true avodas Hashem, as the ramcha”l says!
sli barry you are probably not interested in the facts but here they are its no high horse i am on a filtered computer that only allows certain sites nd has no photos they are all blocked. you however are positive that oyu will never slip any time you have a light moment the nivul is right there for you in your pocket. someone who has an inclination and has an unfilered smartphone will fall into gehennom much more often that one who dstances himeself from these devices or has a filter but this is not yiddishkeit becuase you are biased since oyu have th etumah in your pocket and know what to click tyo get what you want but you keep on being dan lekaf zechus sli