Shin Bet nixes Olmert's planned summer vacation in North Italy - Haaretz

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Tue., August 21, 2007 Elul 7, 5767

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		Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. (Jini Archives)

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Last update - 20:40 19/08/2007

Shin Bet nixes Olmert's planned summer vacation in North Italy

By Yossi Verter, Haaretz correspondent

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will be forced to spend his summer vacation next week - all five days of it - within the walls of the chilly, ceremonial fortress known as the Prime Minister's Residence, at 3 Balfour St. in Jerusalem.

Olmert does not want to go to a Galilee bed-and-breakfast, so as not to ruin the vacation of thousands of Israelis with the Shin Bet's extreme security measures. The prime minister's motorcade (a recognized nuisance in the capital) ran over a young girl who was crossing the street at the entrance to the city on Friday.

Olmert's original plan was to spend his vacation in Italy. He wanted to rent, and pay out of pocket for, a house in a remote part of northern Italy for a quiet week with his family. His aides held a serious discussion about every aspect of the trip, from public relations to security and diplomatic-foreign relations. His men believed the move could send a message of reassurance to the Syrians: If the prime minister is vacationing abroad, he is not readying for war.

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The Shin Bet was instructed to explore the issue, discretely, with their Italian counterpart. The PM naively thought he could take a few bodyguards with him to his vacation home and hang out there, with the Italian police and security services seeing to wider security concerns. He even discussed it with his Italian counterpart and friend Romano Prodi, who encouraged Olmert to come.

But after making inquiries, the Shin Bet informed the prime minister that it would not be so simple. If you go, they told Olmert, we'll have to send a Hercules with three armored cars and dozens of security officers. At that point, officials in the Prime Minister's Bureau realized that their problem wasn't Syria, it was with the legions of Internet jockeys who would be chasing after Olmert from their keyboards with axes, pitchforks and flaming torches in various Web forums. The vacation plan was dumped immediately.

Many world leaders vacation in other countries - Mitterrand and Chirac in the Caribbean; Schroeder, Merkel and Blair in France or Italy; Sarkozy spent his recent vacation in New Hampshire. American presidents spend their one-month summer vacations far from the White House in Washington. But the Israeli mentality cannot tolerate this. Olmert long since realized, fortunately for him, that the kind of foreign vacation that the Shin Bet had planned for him would cost the Israeli taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more. And that's the last thing he needs right now.

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1.	Get new men, AND NEW PM!	08:09	\|	HonestAbe	19/08/07

2.	vacations	08:30	\|	colin	19/08/07

3.	Olmert Should Go To Italy On a One Way Ticket	08:30	\|	Harry Viderci	19/08/07

4.	#honest abe	08:32	\|	colin	19/08/07

5.	Olmert`s Vacation	08:47	\|	Dagma	19/08/07

6.	Olmert`s Vacation	08:48	\|	Dagma	19/08/07

7.	how could he consider vacationing abrad in the first place?	09:26	\|	bobo	19/08/07

8.	Its fashionable for PM`s to stay at home.	09:46	\|	Palestinian Brit	19/08/07

9.	Wellcome, Mr Olmert	10:15	\|	Paolo	19/08/07

10.	Shoot.....	11:06	\|	Clickfool	19/08/07

11.	Vacation in Sederot	11:21	\|	Renee	19/08/07

12.	oldmerde COULD PAY FOR IT WITH HIS PEN COLLECTION	11:42	\|	MOSHE	19/08/07

13.	Most right wing Israelis for example spend their holidays at home	11:47	\|	Andreas	19/08/07

14.	Olmert should go on a permanent vacation.	12:03	\|	Avraham	19/08/07

15.	Response to Clickfool	13:11	\|	Max	19/08/07

16.	Blatant Hypocricy	13:13	\|	Israeli	19/08/07

17.	# 10 Clickfool ......	13:20	\|	Ky	19/08/07

18.	idf	14:29	\|	golani	19/08/07

19.	Italy vacation	14:31	\|	george	19/08/07

20.	For Max # 15	14:56	\|	Clickfool	19/08/07

21.	Poor baby	16:12	\|	Mark Lincoln	19/08/07

22.	Tell me who? (not g-d) will save you?	16:38	\|	Akiva Patysh	19/08/07

23.	TOO BAD IF HE DOESN`T STAYS FOREVER IN ITALY!	17:10	\|	ILSupporter	19/08/07

24.	vacation	17:24	\|	michael Pielet	19/08/07

25.	vacation	17:27	\|	michael pielet	19/08/07

26.	We could suggest a location -a local zoo or better	17:55	\|	Sal	19/08/07

27.	why does he listen to Shin Bet ?	18:05	\|	mehmet	19/08/07

28.	It would be more dangerous for him in the Northern Galillee	18:24	\|	Daniel	19/08/07

29.	Enough already!!!	18:30	\|	HH	19/08/07

30.	Olmert`s vacation	18:34	\|	Roxy	19/08/07

31.	how sad	20:04	\|	indrajaya	19/08/07

32.	To HH # 29 Sorry if it hurts.....	20:25	\|	Dolly	19/08/07

33.	Olmert`s summer vacation	20:28	\|	Vera	19/08/07

34.	To # 29 HH Big Deal.......	20:35	\|	Natasha	19/08/07

35.	29 - missed the point	20:46	\|	Palestinian Brit	19/08/07

36.	Olmert.	20:46	\|	Dolly	19/08/07

37.	The Prime Minister`s Motorcade....	21:25	\|	Dagma	19/08/07

38.	Olmert, PM of Italy ?	22:35	\|	Yoram	19/08/07

39.	Olmert`s Summer Vacation	01:59	\|	Howard S Smigel	20/08/07

40.	To #32 & 34, 35	08:38	\|	HH	20/08/07

41.	Israelis travelling	12:33	\|	David	20/08/07

42.	Why not The Hague?	15:48	\|	Johnboy	20/08/07

43.	Why not...	17:48	\|	Yakov	20/08/07

44.	Regardless of your opinion...he needs a break	02:36	\|	Yered Shmuel	21/08/07

45.	Delicious Justice	06:32	\|	Joe	21/08/07

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