Israel Anglos - Internet Groups Weaving A Community Web

Leyden being interviewed by Israel television on one of the many
Websites he has built for both governmental and commercial organizations.

By Carl Hoffman
The Jerusalem Post

Jerusalem----April 22......An elderly widow, originally from Johannesburg and now living alone in Ra'anana, Israel notices one day that water has begun to pool on her bathroom floor, right behind the lavatory. As concern deepens to panic, she hurries into the hall of her Rehov (street) Ben-Gurion apartment building. Gazing down the corridor at two rows of her neighbors' closed doors, she remembers with irritation that none of them speak English, and her own Hebrew is almost nonexistent.

She lurches back into her apartment, boots up her computer and quickly types a letter to her English language e-mail group in Israel, asking for the phone number of an English-speaking plumber. She writes the words "Help! Plumber?" in the subject line of her letter. grabs her mouse and clicks "send."

Within 10 minutes, her mailbox fills up with the names and phone numbers of several English speaking plumbers, along with letters from two of the plumbers themselves.

While this is going on, a young mother, originally from Los Angeles, posts a letter asking for entertainment ideas for her three year old's upcoming birthday party. She quickly receives recommendations for locally-based clowns, magicians, acrobats and musicians.

Other Anglos ask for recommendations for everything from dentists to dermatologists, carpenters to caterers and wedding planners to divorce lawyers.

A young immigrant from Toronto sees a letter from someone who wants to get rid of his National Geographic collection. Less than 12 hours later, she is the proud owner of magazines going back more than 25 years.

The owner of a travel agency in Israel posts a job pending at his company. Several hours and an avalanche of responses later, the position is filled.

A disgruntled shopper complains of rude treatment from a salesman in a furniture store, triggering a lively debate on Israeli manners that the group's moderator politely but firmly cuts off as it begins to get out of hand.

These people, and thousands more in cities and towns throughout Israel, are a part of a cultural phenomenon, the meaning and impact of which have yet to be fathomed. From Metula to Eilat, English-speaking immigrants old and new are logging on to e-mail groups designed for mutual assistance, sharing common interests, advocating causes of every stripe and description, and - perhaps most importantly - fostering a sense of community bolstered by shared values and a common language.

New e-mail groups are springing up regularly , and new members join them daily. Part of the phenomenal growth of these groups in recent years can be explained by how easy it has become to create them. Establishing a list-serve group was once a complicated undertaking, requiring the expertise of computer professionals. Now, group-hosting Websites like Yahoo, Google and MSN can guide virtually anyone through a simple procedure and help even the minimally computer-proficient to get an e-mail group up and running in just a few minutes.

But experts say the major reason for the popularity of these groups is the sense of community they offer, in many ways resembling that of a small town or village. According to Joel Leyden, a Ra'anana-based public relations consultant, media and communications specialist and the owner-moderator of several e-mail groups, this sense of community has made such groups an important part of the lives of English-speaking immigrants in Israel.

This sector of Israel's population - perhaps more than any other, says Leiden - needs and benefits from the sharing of information and mutual assistance that e-mail groups provide.

"When you look at the Anglo community here in Israel, you're looking at a 'community of need.'
We weren't born here and didn't grow up here. Although I have served, most of us didn't serve in the army and make the strong friendships and contacts that native Israelis make in their army years. Many of us have no family in Israel and a lot of us don't speak Hebrew. Somebody born and raised here in Israel has a built-in network of people around him to help him deal with life, not to mention the language. Most Anglos don't have that - what we have instead are our e-mail groups."

A divorced father of three small children, Leyden created the Israel Anglo Children group as a forum for discussions and information-sharing about parenting; and Fathers 4 Justice Israel advocating divorced fathers' rights of equal access to their children. Currently single, Leyden also created Israel Anglo Singles, a free on-line dating forum with over 570 members. An avid skier, he operates Ski Israel, with some 100 members. Leyden's newest and hottest e-mail group, however, is Israel Anglo Homes, "dedicated to serving the Anglo in Israel in finding, selling or swapping a home." Established in March this year, the list already boasts more than 270 members.

Leiden's general-purpose community e-mail group - NewRaanana- covering the entire Sharon region of Israel serves over 1,380 members, while his Israel Public Relations list provides an exclusive discussion forum for just 220 Israel and Jewish PR professionals.

That e-mail groups serve English speakers as surrogate neighbors, friends and relatives can be seen in the websites' "mission statements." Words like "community," "self-help," "advice" and "assistance" crop up regularly in descriptions of Anglo-orientated lists throughout Israel. The very name of the 2,480 member Tel Aviv e-mail list created by Beau Schutz - "Taanglo: Tel Aviv Anglo Protexia" - provides a clear description of what these groups are all about.

The ability of e-mail groups to provide English speaking Israelis with helpful communities of shared interests will no doubt ensure their unrelenting growth and development. New groups will continue to appear, and new members will eagerly apply to join them. A new e-mail group designed for professional writers in Israel, for example, attracted 159 members in its first week of existence.

Israel News Agency editor's note: There are at least two other highly accessed and respected e-mail Internet community forum groups in Israel including Janglo which serves the Jerusalem community and IsraEmploy which provides job opportunities for Anglos living in Israel.