Ultra-Orthodox Jews demand boycott of ultra-orthodox Jewish websites

Leaders of an ultra-strict faction of Orthodox Judaism have called for a boycott of their community's own websites, saying that the internet is a poisonous influence on the mind, according to the Associated Press.

The AP's Amy Teibel reports that the ultra-Orthodox websites do not contain the type of material that is generally the target of religious ire, but that they do host "freewheeling discussions" on a wide range of topics. Critically, Teibel reports, some discussions challenge rabbinical authority.

It is this, then, that has the powerful religious leaders of the haredi - a Hebrew term meaning "God-fearing" - community up in arms, according to Teibel. The rabbis have reacted violently to what they view as threats in the past, including one widely publicized incident where a youth who had met Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar's daughter online was beaten and abused by Amar's family.

Other religious figures have moved in the opposite direction, most notably Pope Benedict XVI, who called upon Catholic priests to become more involved in online culture as a means of spreading the faith.