Israel's ‘Kosher’ Cellphone Service Faces Day Of Reckoning

In the coming weeks, the Communications Ministry will hold a hearing for cellphone companies in order to determine whether or not to abolish the system whereby Charedi customers with a “kosher” cell phone number are unable to port their number to a cellular service without rabbinic oversight. 

This hearing is part of a broader process being taken by Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel to reform what has been described as the monopoly of a rabbinic committee over the Charedi kosher cellphone market. 

This monopoly has given the Rabbinic Committee for Communications, as it is called, strong leverage over the kosher cellphone business, as well as powerful tools which have societal and commercial effects. 

Kosher phones used by the Charedi public are designed to prevent their users from accessing the internet and, originally, phone services with [inappropriate] content. 

Approved devices are all “dumb-phones” meaning they have no internet access and can only make and receive calls, have no camera, and cannot even receive SMS messages.