An op-ed in the ultra-Orthodox newspaper Hamodia yesterday urged readers to avoid computers, which it called the devil in disguise.

"The evil inclination, the corrupting satan, have wrapped themselves in an innocent disguise in the form of a computer," wrote publicist Y. Sofer. He blamed the "spiritual descent" of ultra-Orthodox youth on exposure to forbidden images online.

This is the latest salvo in a campaign by the Gerrer Hasidic sect, which controls Hamodia, to rid the community of computers.

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Gerrer officials are in the process of visiting the homes of community members who own computers in an effort to convince them to get rid of them, citing the "spiritual dangers" posed to the family.

However, campaign leaders as well as Hamodia have stopped short of attributing this effort to "the sages of Israel," the ultra-Orthodox rabbinic leaders. Sofer's op-ed speaks in the name of "parents and educators" and "those who are attentive to the unease of people seeking a lifeline out of the abyss."

The reluctance to cite rabbinic authorities indicates that the ultra-Orthodox leaders are not yet willing to put their full weight behind an apparently impossible task, as computers have become an important part of the lives of many of the ultra-Orthodox.

In contrast to the Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox campaign, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the spiritual leader of the Sephardi Shas party, came out in recent days in support of a more modest proposal: A "kosher" Internet that allows access only to Web sites approved by a special rabbinic committee.

Yosef's right-hand man, Communications Minister Ariel Atias, has suggested censoring pornography sites via Internet service providers nationwide.

Sofer, meanwhile, thinks there is a chance of fighting computer use in the ultra-Orthodox world. He bases his opinion on the community's success in keeping the ultra-Orthodox away from third-generation cell phones, which have been banned by the rabbis.

"In the first stage, it seemed to be an impossible challenge," wrote Sofer. "Today, everyone understands what spiritual damage has been averted due to the mercy of heaven."