By December 31, 2025, a seismic shift in Israel’s mobile infrastructure will sever lifelines for up to a million users, including tens of thousands of Charedim, unless swift action is taken. In what could become one of the most disruptive transitions in Israeli tech history, the Ministry of Communications is mandating a full shutdown of the country’s aging 2G and 3G cellular networks. While framed as a necessary leap toward high-speed 4G and 5G, the move risks plunging vulnerable populations—especially the elderly, low-income families, and Charedim—into sudden, silent isolation. The shutdown isn’t just a technical milestone. For tens of thousands of Charedim who rely on basic “kosher phones”—devices that deliberately exclude internet, SMS, and social media access—the looming deadline threatens both daily functionality and the spiritual safeguards they depend on. Of the approximately one million 2G and 3G devices still in use in Israel, around 150,000 belong to Charedim. Many of these devices have “hashgachos,” and are foundational to the kosher mobile infrastructure so carefully cultivated over the past two decades. In 2023, intense lobbying from the Charedi sector temporarily delayed parts of the shutdown, as rabbonim and askanim raised alarms about the lack of 4G-compatible kosher alternatives. Today, thanks to behind-the-scenes scrambling by the Rabbinical Committee for Communications, dozens of such phones have entered the Israeli market—many imported from India and China, featuring only call functionality and minimal camera quality, devoid of texting or data capabilities. But that doesn’t mean the storm has passed. “There are still at least 150,000 Charedim using phones that simply won’t work on January 1,” a senior telecom executive warned. “We can’t afford a blackout in Bnei Brak or Meah Shearim because someone’s grandfather didn’t know his SIM card would stop working.” Kosher phone stores have begun stocking 4G-compliant models, and carriers like Pelephone and Hot Mobile are offering partial subsidies for rabbinically-approved handsets. Still, concerns remain—particularly regarding medical alert devices, security systems in Charedi shuls and schools, and elderly users who may lack the awareness or financial means to upgrade. What makes this shutdown even more fraught is the communication gap: kosher phones don’t display SMS messages, and their users often avoid internet or secular media, making it more difficult to let them know about the shutdown. To counter this, the Ministry of Communications has authorized special robocalls and “Flash SMS” messages that display automatically, bypassing traditional opt-ins. Additionally, in Charedi strongholds, awareness campaigns are expected to roll out via flyers in shuls, community newspapers, and hotline announcements. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)