Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky is more concerned with eternal damnation than he is with pollution. Why else would he instruct his followers to set fire to their iPhones?
The ultra-Orthodox Israel-based rabbi, 84, informed his followers to keep the outside world largely fueled by Silicon Valley at bay -- and no better way to do that than to rid themselves of the easy, trendy and oh-so necessary portal to the Internet, according to the Associated Press.
Kanievsky issued his decree on the eve of Judaism's holiest time, Yom Kippur, which begins Tuesday at sundown, according to reports.
While ultra-Orthodoxy is on the rise in Israel, the demanded ban is in stark contrast to mainstream Israeli society. Religious newspapers put the ban on their front pages, while mainstream papers continued to use A1 space to gush about the iPhone 5's new capabilities, the news wire reported.
Religious leaders went to the broadcast waves to warn about the dangers of technology, the AP reported. Rabbis have demanded followers keep their children away from the children of iPhone users.
Not all cell phones are banned, however: "kosher" cell phones, with the Internet blocked, meet rabbinical approval.
No word on whether BlackBerry devices are relevant enough to earn a ban, too.
Rabbi Instructs Followers To Burn “Evil” iPhones
An ultra-Orthodox rabbi has told his followers to burn their iPhones.
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