I’ve been trying to write this post for two weeks now… Not even sure why it’s taken me so long?
First, for those who don’t know, Twitter is a social networking platform where you can sent out “tweets” – messages no longer than 140 characters. Each Twitter user chooses whose tweet stream to follow. You need to be there to understand, but somehow amidst those rivers of messages, people manage to connect and establish dialogs. It’s a bit like following blogs, but you can follow so many more people, when messages are kept to 140 characters or less and delivered right unto your page.
A tweetup is where you arrange to meet those people you interact with on Twitter, in the real world. And so, two weeks ago, on a Friday, I grabbed IsraeliDad and we headed out for Jerusalem for a Tweetup. Here’s the nice thing about Twitter – it’s so easy to follow people, that you can really get to know people outside your social realm. And I can tell you, the three people we’ve met up with were anything but our usual social realm.
Around the table sat an American working in the West Bank, an American married to a Palestinian and living in Ramallah and YeshivaGuy, a non-Zionist ultra orthodox Jewish blogger training to be a rabbi. It was fascinaiting. We asked a lot of questions, about life in Ramallah, and life in Me’ah She’arim (the ultra orthodox neighborhood in Jerusalem – much further away from us, culturally, than Ramallah). Some painful experiences from the Palestinian side, contrasted by the religious spiritual zeal, so out of touch with daily politics. Lots of labels were in the air: Jews, Christians, Muslims, Zionists (just the two of us), Haredim. Yet, there we were, five people, sitting together, overcoming initial fears and hesitations and ending up smiling and sharing jokes together.
On the way home I was thinking to myself how nice it would be to have Sarah and her Palestinian husband over for dinner someday. How tragic that we can’t really visit each other. Seems like there’s a nice group of people over in Ramallah that could have been a nice match for an evening of BBQ (well, vegan for us!), just talking into the night.
As for Yeshivsguy, that was quite the anthropological/cultural experience! No offense intended here – I expect we were quite a bit of an anthropological tourist attraction too (the secular Zionists – a dying breed?). When we told people about the tweetup, this was definitely the highlight. I mean, Israelis are familiar with Palestinians and people living in the West Bank – at least to some extent – but a Haredi ultra orthodox Jew? way too exotic!
For me, in the end, it was about forming a personal face-to-face connection with some very nice people. Kind, intelligent, with a sense of humor. People that are normally separated from us by so many labels and tags… it was great to reach out for a change and interact. Thank you Twitter!
Oh, and make sure you read Sarah’s account of our tweetup here.
on Aug 24th, 2009 at 5:24 am
Thanks for writing this up. I find it funny that we were both most intrigued by/interested in Yeshivaguy. For me, too, he was the one whose type I have had BY FAR the least amount of contact with (none, before that day). I am inspired by non-Zionist Jews. I see a future with them. For me, it’s the idea of a Jewish-only state that is the real problem here.
It was so great to meet you. I do hope we can find some time/place for all of us to meet some day. Area B, anyone?! Technically/legally, you could come to my in-laws’ house.
on Aug 24th, 2009 at 5:33 am
I’d love to meet up there – not far for us either. Just say when
And Zionism is not about a Jewish-only state at all. Hopefully, there is a future for a happy co-existence with Zionist Jews too
on Aug 26th, 2009 at 6:00 am
Please let me know when the next jerusalem tweetup will be – I’d really like to attend…I always seem to hear about it just right after it happens!