Brooklyn School Orders Students To Delete Facebook Or Find New School

Facebook has been banned for students at an Orthodox Jewish high school in Brooklyn, New York. The administration recently came under fire for the policy, which holds a zero-tolerance approach to the popular social networking site. The all-girls school, Beth Rivkah, states that the girls must delete their Facebook pages immediately and pay a $100 fine, or find a new school.

An administrator defended the policy by saying, “It’s the wrong place for a Jewish girl to be…Facebook is not a modest thing to do.”

Benzion Stock, another school administrator, told The New York Post that,” Girls are getting killed on the Internet — that’s the reason for it.”

He went on to say that:

“The Internet is a good way to ruin marriages and families…we don’t want them there, period. It’s the wrong place for a Jewish girl to be. Facebook is not a modest thing to do.”

The policy came to light after administrators found that several 11th grade girls had joined Facebook. These girls were forced to follow the policy, and pay the fine. CrownHeights.info first reported the fines, and the policy quickly went viral. School officials were quick to advise that this policy is not new, and is part of a contract the girls must sign in order to attend the Orthodox school. They stated that the girls all agreed not to use social media.

Chaya Tatik, a 17 year old who was expelled from Beth Rivkah after she was found to be using Facebook, and dressing “immodestly,” said of the policy that, “blocking them from using [Facebook] gives them hatred . . . They want to take revenge and rebel. I know because I’ve experienced it.”

Tatikk, now a senior at Bnos Chomesh Academy, went on to say that:

“It’s not right that they’re keeping them from such a thing…everyone uses Facebook. It’s a way to communicate…I communicate with my cousins from Israel, who I don’t get to see that much.”

In an effort to show the school that perhaps this law is hypocritical, several students and parents reminded the school administrators that a fund-raiser on Beth Rivkah’s website asks followers to “do a mitzvah!” and sign up for Facebook, to hopefully win money for the school.

Check out the video below about a New Jersey Principal seeking a ban on Facebook:

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