‘Post’ ranked most influential Jewish entity on Twitter

Reporters Lahav Harkov, Khaled Abu Toameh make JTA’s list of top 25 individuals with impact.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Updated: MARCH 28, 2016 22:02
Twitter logo (photo credit: TWITTER)
Twitter logo
(photo credit: TWITTER)
The rankings are in – and The Jerusalem Post has come out on top.
JTA this week published its list of the most influential Jewish individuals and groups on Twitter, and the Post topped the list of entities, followed by the IDF Spokesman, Haaretz and the State of Israel.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Twitter’s founding, the news agency used data analysis by the Little Bird “influencer marketing platform” to identify a network of 1,000 people who most participate in Twitter discussions on Israel and Jewish issues. It then ranked those participants based on how many followers they have.
The official list included the 25 individuals it deemed the most influential, including the Post’s own Lahav Harkov (13) and Khaled Abu Toameh (23).
“I’m honored to be on a list that includes many people whose work I respect and admire,” said Harkov, whose more than 17,000 followers make her the Post’s most-followed reporter. “From my first day on the Knesset beat, I realized Twitter is an excellent journalistic tool, and I plan to continue updating my followers, in real time, on the inner workings of the only democracy in the Middle East.”
William Daroff, the Washington office director of the Jewish Federations of North America topped the list of individuals, followed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then Avi Mayer, spokesman for the Jewish Agency.
Former Israeli ambassador to the US Danny Ayalon came in at No. 4, while the current ambassador, Ron Dermer, ranked No. 7 and Dan Shapiro, US ambassador to Israel was No. 8. Former president Shimon Peres was ranked No. 19 and current President Reuven Rivlin No. 22.
JTA also generated a separate list of 25 “guest stars” – those who tweet about Israel and Jewish subjects, just not necessarily frequently, and have the most followers overall. That list was topped by former US president Bill Clinton and included actors Lena Dunham and Seth Rogen, musicians Matisyahu, Haim and Ezra Koenig, and even, somehow, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
JTA contributed to this report.