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Monday, December 15, 2025
MKs advance bill requiring state agencies to send voice updates for users of kosher phones
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Lawmakers vote 72-0 in favor of the first reading of a bill requiring public bodies, such as the National Insurance Institute and Israel Tax Authority, to send out recorded voice messages to members of the public who own phones that cannot receive updates via text message.
The bill, sponsored by United Torah Judaism MK Yisrael Eichler, will be referred back to the Knesset Science and Technology Committee, where it will be prepared for the final two readings needed for it to pass into law.
Many in the ultra-Orthodox community who shun unfiltered access to the internet do not use smartphones and instead use so-called “kosher phones,” which are stripped of features such as web browsers and messaging apps and do not even allow their owners to receive SMS messages.
Last year, lawmakers approved a controversial law rolling back consumer protections in order to give cellphone carriers legal grounds to continue offering restricted plans to ultra-Orthodox Israelis and handing Haredi institutions the means to verify that individuals are using such censored phones.
The Times of Israel Community.