- . Digg It
- . Sphere It
- . E-mail This
- . Save to del.icio.us
- . Permanent Link
Israel, Surf's Up
George W, Madonna, Tony Blair, and now, Kelly Slater!
I was a little bit perturbed to see on the BBC News yesterday that President Bush is in Israel, staying at the swank King David Hotel in Jerusalem, a mere block from the second nicest hotel in town, the David Citadel, where Madonna and I stayed (no, not together: She was there with her Kabbalah rabbi).
I suppose I should be glad Bush wasn't there at the exact same time I was. Though Israel has top-notch security starting from the moment you check in for your El-Al Airlines flight (the interview process at security is akin to police interrogation, so you do need to arrive three hours in advance), W is the most hated man in the Middle East. And it would make me VERY nervous if I were sleeping within bombing range of him.
It's interesting, however, that former UK prime minister Tony Blair was in Israel three weeks ago, at the same time I was (staying at the third nicest hotel in town, the Intercontinental Jerusalem). Now it seems that President Bush will also focus on Middle East peace talks at the end of his political career. How did Israel become the place where former world leaders go to transition into retirement?
Seems like everyone's going to Israel. As you may know, if you've been reading my blog, my trip to the Holy Land had a profound effect on me, so maybe I'm just more aware of media coverage?
Still, seeing the February OUTSIDE magazine cover story on eight-time world champion surfer Kelly Slater's trip to Israel was a bit of a shocker. Apparently, Slater was down there with a surf posse at the invitation of Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz, founder of Surfing for Peace, an organization dedicated to bringing together Israelis and Palestinians under the international, knows-no-boundaries "bro-mance" of surfing. As Paskowitz likes to say (according to Jimmie Briggs, the Outside reporter): "If you can surf together, you can live together."
I suppose I should be glad Bush wasn't there at the exact same time I was. Though Israel has top-notch security starting from the moment you check in for your El-Al Airlines flight (the interview process at security is akin to police interrogation, so you do need to arrive three hours in advance), W is the most hated man in the Middle East. And it would make me VERY nervous if I were sleeping within bombing range of him.
It's interesting, however, that former UK prime minister Tony Blair was in Israel three weeks ago, at the same time I was (staying at the third nicest hotel in town, the Intercontinental Jerusalem). Now it seems that President Bush will also focus on Middle East peace talks at the end of his political career. How did Israel become the place where former world leaders go to transition into retirement?
Seems like everyone's going to Israel. As you may know, if you've been reading my blog, my trip to the Holy Land had a profound effect on me, so maybe I'm just more aware of media coverage?
Still, seeing the February OUTSIDE magazine cover story on eight-time world champion surfer Kelly Slater's trip to Israel was a bit of a shocker. Apparently, Slater was down there with a surf posse at the invitation of Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz, founder of Surfing for Peace, an organization dedicated to bringing together Israelis and Palestinians under the international, knows-no-boundaries "bro-mance" of surfing. As Paskowitz likes to say (according to Jimmie Briggs, the Outside reporter): "If you can surf together, you can live together."
What People Are Saying…
Leave a Comment
08:57 EDT, 27.Apr.08
15:08 EST, 11.Jan.08