Great, now we’ll have to hear those rambling Ivrit messages that we try to avoid. This will be extremely annoying for English speakers who won’t understand much, if anything at all. I just bought a new phone and there was a problem with the SIM card and ALL my contacts. I didn’t want pelephone (monopoly via apple) and Partner copied and then transferred my data to a new muchsmaller SIM card but this am I have no phone service. DIDNT know there would NOT be sms anymore on non-internet phones. Good grief! Talk about isolationist moves! IM TOTALLY AT A LOSS NOW.
Knesset Advances Bill Requiring Government Provide Voice Messages for Users of “Kosher Phones”
Israel’s Knesset on Monday advanced legislation aimed at accommodating Chareidim who use “kosher phones.” Lawmakers voted unanimously, 72–0, to approve the first reading of a bill that would require public bodies — including the National Insurance Institute and the Israel Tax Authority — to deliver official notifications via recorded voice messages to citizens whose phones cannot receive text messages. The measure was sponsored by United Torah Judaism MK Yisrael Eichler and will now return to the Knesset’s Science and Technology Committee for preparation ahead of the final two readings required for passage.
Large segments of the Haredi population avoid smartphones and unfiltered internet access for religious reasons, relying instead on so-called kosher phones that block web browsers, messaging apps and, in many cases, even SMS functionality.
As government agencies have increasingly shifted to text-based notifications — from benefits updates to tax alerts — Chareidi lawmakers have argued that thousands of citizens are effectively cut off from essential state communications.
“This is about basic accessibility,” Eichler has said in past debates, arguing the bill is a technical fix rather than a cultural concession. The unanimous vote suggested little appetite among coalition or opposition lawmakers to contest that framing, at least at this stage.
Still, the legislation lands amid a broader and more contentious fight over the role of technology regulation in the Chareidi sector. Last year, the Knesset approved a controversial law that rolled back certain consumer protections to allow cellphone carriers to continue offering restricted plans tailored to Chareidi users. That law also gave Chareidi institutions formal mechanisms to verify that individuals are using kosher phones, a move critics warned could entrench communal surveillance and limit personal choice. https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/israel-news/2486254/knesset-advances-bill-requiring-government-provide-voice-messages-for-users-of-kosher-phones.html
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