Israel: Consulate Holds Twitter “Press Conference”
Just last week, HubSpot, a Boston-based Internet marketing firm, released a report which stated that micro-blogging platform Twitter gains 5,000 to 10,000 new users every day. Given the recent use of Twitter in discussing major events such as the recent attacks in Mumbai and Gaza, it is unsurprising to see such growth.
Governments have also been using Twitter for quite some time. The U.S. government operates a number of Twitter accounts (including @USAGov, @TheWhiteHouse, and @NASA), with other countries’ governments sure to follow. This afternoon, in the midst of the Israel-Gaza conflict, the Israeli Consulate of New York set up a Twitter account. Its first tweet read:
Shortly afterward, the consulate announced its intent to hold a citizens “press” conference on Tuesday, December 30, from 1-3 pm EST:
The conference presents a unique, never-before-seen opportunity for a government to create an open platform for global discussion during a time of crisis. Twitter users are able to send questions during the conference, and follow the discussion by using the #AskIsrael hashtag. The face behind the consulate's Twitter account is David Saranga, Consul for Media and Public Affairs for Israel in the United States.
Twitter users have already begun to ask questions. gyokusai, based in Germany, asks:
Details about the press conference can be found on the consulate's blog.
13 comments
Here is a list of possible solutions to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict-a-thon:
1. Eliminate the barriers between the Palestinian and Israeli populations; try to create a pluralistic society
2. Kill all Palestinians
3. Kill all Israelis
4. Create two states with port access for both
5. Israel go back to its 1967 borders
Option number one sounds good, but in an election where Palestinians and Israelis are all given the right to vote, Palestinians would outnumber Israelis. Under such circumstances the Palestinians would gain control over the Israeli/Palestinian state. Obviously Israel would have a problem with this. Clearly option number two is undesirable but does appear to be what will happen if the current arrangement endures. Option number three is also undesirable but will be likely to occur as a result of option number two. Option number four would be the only possible way for a two state solution to work since port access would enable trade between Palestinian territories and the world. However, Israelis would become more vulnerable to attacks made possible by the importation of foreign weaponry into Palestinian territory. The final option, option number five, would do a lot to relieve Arab/Israeli strife. I know that Israel would see option number five as weakness, something that would be taken advantage of; “give them an inch and they’ll take a mile”. However, for the sake of the world, Israel should suck it up and retreat to its 1967 borders. I believe that world peace demands it. If we twiddle our thumbs waiting for option number two and option number three to play out, it will pull the whole world in.
You may also want to check out yonkly. It’s the first “create your own” microblog to integrate with Twitter: http://yonkly.com
This is really interesting. Thanks Jillian!
#1: Your knowledge is seriously lacking in this area. Stop being so naive and get back to reality, for your own sake.