The gov.il portal, whose aim is to provide information and digital assistance to citizens, already has a Twitter account at @israelgov with 1,133 followers where the latest updates on government matters are posted.
That account was set up by the state's e-Government team more than six months ago and since then has published about 400 tweets. Now, on a new question and answer service launched on Sunday, citizens can ask questions and get answers from government departments and agencies via Twitter.
Between 9 A.M. and 5 P.M. queries are answered almost immediately. Questions received later are answered the next day
The Twitter account, like other forums on the gov.il website, is operated by a team of four, including Michal Stein, the portal's editor. They are also responsible for answering e-mails received through the Web site. All are employed by an a contractor called Tehilla, which provides services to the Finance Ministry's e-Government unit.
Ilan Yom Tov, the director of e-government, says that the gov.il Web site has had 8.5 million visits seeking information on various government ministries. The e-Government array is made up of a team of 200 persons.
Easy with the faucet
Tweets from citizens range from school uniforms to support of the Israeli medical team in Haiti to the much-debated drought tax.
"The drought levy has been suspended, but easy with the faucet - the Kinneret is still far from full," one formal but lighthearted message read.
"Listeria is no reason for hysteria, but the Health Ministry does recommend that you avoid tainted salmon," another said.
Then there was a tweet on behalf of the Tourism Ministry: "Instead of dreaming of a vacation, how about making a living from it? Information on courses and jobs in the tourism industry."
And with registration for nursery schools next year about to begin, there was an announcement for bewildered parents: "Where to register the children? A directory of nursery schools, infant care centers and daycare centers is now on-line."
All official tweets are accompanied by a link that redirects surfers interested in a particular issue to the relevant Web site.
Government Twitter operators offer information of the likes of: "Nothing like it has been seen since Azit the dog paratrooper: defense forces to get 40 work dogs." And according to another: "Like new from the seller: Public Trustee announces auction for sale of spare auto parts seized from convicted criminals."
Another sampling: "Feel like Sherlock Holmes? Tel Aviv Police seek the public's help in finding person suspected of breaking and entering and theft," along with a link that leads to a description of the suspect.
The e-Government recently decided to expand its Twitter service, and establish a separate account for customer service that will operate alongside the stream of general information.
The Twitter account for individual's questions was announced as follows: "My aunt wants to start a choir, can she get government funding? The answer to this question and others can be found at the portal's Twitter Customer Service @govCS."
Dozens of citizens have already used the new service, which has only been operating for a few days. THey pose questions about anthroposophist nursery schools, the correct way to strap seatbelts on children, the water tax and queries from older citizens about their rights to various benefits.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Ayala Tsoref
Quelle/Source: Ha'aretz, 19.01.2010
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