NICK DRAINEY
ISRAEL
WHEN Larry Pinczower switches on his mobile phone, the seal of a
rabbinate council appears. Unable to send text messages, take
photographs or connect to the internet, his phone is a religiously
approved adaptation to modernity by the ultra-Orthodox sector of
Israeli life.
Calls to other kosher phones are less than a penny a minute, compared
with 5p for normal phones. But on the Sabbath any call costs £1.20 a
minute.
"You pay less, and you're playing by the rules," Pinczower, 39, said.
"You're using technology but in a way that maintains religious
integrity."
A community of at least 800,000 people - out of 5.4 million Jews
living in Israel, a country of 7.1 million - the ultra-Orthodox,
though comparatively poor, form a distinct, growing and important
market and Israeli companies are paying attention.
Because they live in tight communities and obey their rabbis, they
have significant power in the marketplaceas well as in the voting
booth, said Rafi Melnick, dean of the Lauder School of Government at
the Interdisciplinary Centre, Herzliya.
"You see it in sectors like food, consumer products and transport
companies," he said. The Israeli airline El Al is now privatised.
"But they continue not to fly on Saturday," Melnick said, in order to
keep hold of ultra-Orthodox customers.
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