Interesting Al Mohler piece in the WaPo on the pros and cons of the Internet, which led off with a reference to a Orthodox Jewish rally against the Net at the Mets' new stadium earlier this month. Normally, you don't get 40,000 Jews crammed into a baseball stadium unless it's a Democratic campaign event; instead, you have something akin to a Hassidic Acquire the Fire.
What was notable to me was the caption on the picture of the rally in the WaPo
Ultra-Orthodox Jews take in the view from Citi Field at a meeting to discuss the risks of using the Internet on May 20, 2012 in the Queens borough of New York City.
Note that Mohler never used the ultra modifier in any of his Orthodox references but the picture department of the WaPo did.
Ultra-Orthodox seems to be the preferred descriptor for Jews who reject mainstream culture; it takes the place of "fundamentalist" for very observant Jews, since the oxymoron of "fundamentalist Jew" will hit even a secularist funny. However, it takes on the tone of takes-their-faith-too-seriously that the f-word does.
It has political repercussions in Israel, where the Haradi (as they are called; it translates loosely to "the fearful") are a political force to be reckoned with, getting an out for their seminarians from otherwise-universal military service and financing for said seminaries. In addition, they have been known to harass less-devoutly-attired folks and have gotten buses through their areas to be sex-segregated.
Stateside, they tend to be quirky outliers in metro New York, where a large contingent live. Living kosher-to-a-fault might be a bit ultra, but it shouldn't be something the WaPo crew should be passing judgement on, since "...there is no analogue on the other end of the religious spectrum (there are no ultra-Reform Jews.)"
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