Orthodox Jews in Israel have come up with something new to protect their children against sexual images, TV and other orthodox Jewish taboos. A new “kosher” search has been launched called ‘Koogle’. It gives them the possibility to surf the web without bring them to uncompromising websites. The religious community has been struggling lately with how to deal with search engines such as Google, AltaVista or Yahoo. Rabbis have encourages the development of Koogle so the community has no problems meeting religious standards. The name Koogle comes from the engine Google and a popular Jewish noodle dish. It filters forbidden material, such as pictures of women dressed immodestly or sexually explicit images.
Amos Azizoff helped setting up Koogle: ‘The website is for adults as well as children,’ he says: ‘You can find anything, from the local cinema to bridal wear.’ The site has been visited more than 100.000 times in the last month alone. Azizoff continues: ‘There is so much happening on the internet that isn't healthy and this search engine allows people to surf without pop-ups or anything that is inappropriate.’
And the search engine has more options. During the Jewish Sabbath, which begins at sundown on Friday and ends at sunset on Saturday, it is not possible to shop online. Azizoff admits the site will not appeal to everyone: "We have to be realistic. Just as you have orthodox Christians and orthodox Muslims, there are people who like to take the easy approach on life, right or wrong, that does not matter. But there are different needs for different communities." Although the main website is in Hebrew (www.koogle.co.il), there is an English version too: www.koogle.co.il/English
