A Samsung smartphone. Samsung recently debuted a “kosher” smartphone. Photo: Wikipedia.

JNS.org – Samsung, in partnership with the Israeli company Askan, on Wednesday debuted a “kosher” smartphone for users seeking to avoid religiously offensive content.

“We chose Askan as a partner because the company helps the haredi society, which wants to make use of smart mobile devices, and gain access to our advanced instruments in complete conformity with their lifestyle,” said Guy Hibash, director of Samsung Israel’s enterprise division.

Askan creates technology that can program phones with Internet filters in order to block content that haredi users would consider offensive. The “kosher” operating system will run on various Samsung phones, including the Galaxy S6 and S7 series as well as the A5 and J1 models.

Rabbi Tzvi Braverman, a haredi rabbinical judge from Beitar Illit in Israel, approved the new device. But the kosher smartphone is still awaiting an endorsement from the rabbinical court of Rabbi Nissim Karelitz, who oversees smartphone usage in the non-Hassidic haredi community.