Some 40,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews packed Citi Field last night (with another 20,000 overflowing into Arthur Ashe stadium) for a huge rally warning about the evils of the Internet. If you're curious about what went on inside, look no further than the Internet, where the Twitter hastag #Asifa yields a slew of live updates from the rally. Organizers had futilely tried to keep the sold-out event private, to no avail. Josh Nathan-Kazis at the Forward was told that reporters would not be permitted inside because of Homeland Security.
Outside Citi Field, Lazer Paskes, one of the events’ lead spokesman, told reporters, "Homeland Security... had determined that press could not attend." He declined to elaborate, according to the Forward. But the Uncle Sam's alleged attempt to silence the press didn't stop several reporters from getting into the stadium—perhaps most impressive was Betabeat's Adrianne Jeffries, who defied organizers' attempts to exclude women and reported in realtime from inside the stadium. Here's somewhat surreal video from the scene at Citi Field last night.
RT @nosmh:The whole asifa was like a UN conference mulity languages,no one understands whats the point and no real resulting at all #asifa
— Jg (@gold166) May 21, 2012
@joshnathankazis My female friend, an EMT, was stationed at Citifield tonight. She said all the women's bathrooms were locked #asifa
— Dvora Meyers (@gymnick83) May 21, 2012
internet resolution at #Asifa: if u need to visit a web site you should use a "Internet Goy" to visit the site for u - like a Shabbos Goy
— Yosef Kramer (@YosefKramer) May 21, 2012
Outside the stadium, a protest blasted the ultra-Orthodox community for fixating on technology while ignoring child abuse. "They’re going to spend millions of dollars to fight the internet," organizer Ari Mandel told CBS 2. "But they will do absolutely nothing to fight child molestation." The problem of child sex abuse in ultra-Orthodox communities has been getting increased media scrutiny in recent months, especially in the wake of a damning NY Times article about Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes's handling of such investigations.
Inside Citi Field, two billboards for Cholula hot sauce were censored, with the female in the company's ad campaigns covered up. “This is a battle being waged against dark negative forces," one rabbi told the crowd. "[God] will help us wage this war against those negative forces. “Children are being turned into click vegetables... I’ve seen people with my own eyes giving 11-year-olds BlackBerrys and iPhones and cellphones. I can’t believe it." And Eytan Kobre, another spokesman, told the Times, "The siren song of the Internet entices us! It brings out the worst of us!" Sounds like the words of a man who's never appreciated how amazing Sharon Stone looks at 53.
