Diplomats denied treif

Israel turned down a request by some of its ambassadors abroad asking to hold official functions in non-kosher restaurants. Ma’ariv reported Monday that dozens of envoys had complained to Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni that the kosher eateries available in the countries where they are posted are not of a standard appropriate for official diplomatic business. But their appeal for flexibility in the protocol was quashed by Trade Minister Eli Yishai, a representative of the Orthodox Shas Party in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s coalition government. “Keeping kosher has preserved the people of Israel,” Yishai told Livni.