Reporter’s Notebook: Fighting over the Front Seat; Taking the Long Road Around

Fighting over the front seat: Israel’s obsession with security almost caused a diplomatic incident last week as agents with the Shin Bet and the U.S. Secret Service feuded over seating arrangements in Vice President Al Gore’s motorcade when he arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport. Much to the surprise of the Americans, Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, wanted to station an agent in Gore’s car. After delaying the motorcade for several minutes, the Secret Service gave in and both countries had an armed agent in the front seat of Gore’s limo. It’s unclear who had to ride the 40 minutes to Jerusalem in the middle seat.

Look out for that wing: The obsession with security did not carry over to the vice president’s plane. As soon as Gore stepped off the plane and into a VIP lounge for a brief meeting with Israeli Cabinet Minister Natan Sharansky, who has assumed the protocol roles of the foreign minister since David Levy resigned, an El Al 747 swung around, putting its wings into the secure area for Air Force Two. In the United States, the Secret Service closes the entire section of the airport where the pilots park the president’s or vice president’s plane.

Where’s Israel? Gore may not have noticed the decorations on the lampposts that lined the road to Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat’s Ramallah office. The motorcade zipped past white lights in the shapes of a dove, a crescent and what one assumes would be Palestine.

Staying warm: Tipper Gore was the only person in Gore’s party who came prepared to Israel’s major jubilee celebration in Jerusalem on April 30. As the temperatures dipped below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, the second lady was warmer than most in her tan overcoat. The rest of the party, including this reporter, wrapped themselves in El Al blankets that decorated all the seats at the stadium.

Staying focused: For many women at the Western Wall on the morning of April 30, Tipper Gore’s visit with Sara Netanyahu was a big deal. Many applauded and cleared a path. But not so for two older Israeli women focused on their morning prayers. With their faces pressed against the wall in prayer, Netanyahu and Gore squeezed in-between to place notes into the cracks in the wall.

Seven `Hatikvahs’: By the time Gore left Israel early Monday morning, he had stood at attention for Israel’s national anthem no less than seven times in as many days, including two times prior to his Israeli tour. At one of those times, Gore promised students at the Adas Israel Jewish Day School in Washington, D.C., to deliver homemade cards celebrating Israel’s 50th. Gore delivered on his promise, making sure they got to Israeli President Ezer Weizman.

The long way ’round: It took Gore’s motorcade more than one hour to make a 15- minute ride from Ben-Gurion Airport to Ramallah for his meeting with Arafat. Gore took the “Albright route,” named for America’s secretary of state, which is a settlers bypass road from Jerusalem into the West Bank. The route minimized the amount of time spent in populated Palestinian areas for security reasons. In fact, the Secret Service agents assigned to the “secure package,” as the smaller motorcade is known, put on bullet-proof vests before disembarking from Air Force Two.