Rahm Emanuel family on Israel Defense Force helicopter tour

WASHINGTON–White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel’s Israel visit is getting detailed attention from the Israel press–down to whether or not he is eating in kosher restaurants. On Tuesday, the Israeli Defense Force gave Emanuel and his family a helicopter tour of Israel and of bases in the north and south. In Israel on Wednesday, Emanuel is meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to Haaretz, “The IDF confirmed that Emanuel and his family were

the guests of the IDF the bulk of the day, and added that the tour received

all the necessary approvals.”

Emanuel travelled to Israel for the bar mitzvah of his son, Zach and a nephew. He’s with his father, the Israeli born Benjamin and his brothers, Hollywood superagent Ari and Ezekiel, a White House health policy advisor.

Haaretz, an Israeli paper, reported in its Hebrew editions about Emanuel’s movements. I asked a White House spokesman if the English translation version I am reporting off of had any fact errors and was told the report was accurate.

From Haaretz:

* “Emanuel and his family toured yesterday IDF bases in the north and south. Emanuel and his family came two days ago to the Upper Galilee and after a tour that included a view of Lebanon from the mountains of Metulla and a visit to the monument in the memory of the 73 who died in the helicopter disaster near Kibbutz Dafna.”

*”It appears that the IDF, in coordination with the Foreign Ministry, gave

Emanuel and his son, who is celebrating his bar mitzvah, a touring-learning

experience. Yesterday in the morning Emanuel came to the base of the

Northern Command in Safed and from there continued via helicopter to the Air

Force base in Hatzerim.”

*This one might have been for Ari: “The Emanuel family visited also the Kibbutz El

Rom Studios in the northern heights, where a film on the battle in Emek

Habacha in the Yom Kippur War was screened.”

*”The family ended the day at the Sharola meat restaurant next to Mapalei Soar.”

Below, English translation of Hebrew story in Haaretz…..

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

IDF gives Rahm Emanuel and family airborne tour of country

Eli Ashkenazi and Anshel Pfeffer Haaretz Hebrew Print Edition 26 May 2010

Translated by IMRA

White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, and his family toured yesterday

IDF bases in the north and south. Emanuel and his family came two days ago

to the Upper Galilee and after a tour that included a view of Lebanon from

the mountains of Metulla and a visit to the monument in the memory of the 73

who died in the helicopter disaster near Kibbutz Dafna, the family spent the

night at the Pastoral hotel in Kibbutz Kfar Blum.

It appears that the IDF, in coordination with the Foreign Ministry, gave

Emanuel and his son, who is celebrating his bar mitzvah, a touring-learning

experience. Yesterday in the morning Emanuel came to the base of the

Northern Command in Safed and from there continued via helicopter to the Air

Force base in Hatzerim. After that they returned via helicopter to the

Gibor landing pad near Kiryat Shemoneh and toured Mount Bental in the

northern Golan, from which there is a view of Kuneitra, the Hermon and the

Galilee, with his family. The IDF confirmed that Emanuel and his family were

the guests of the IDF the bulk of the day, and added that the tour received

all the necessary approvals. The Emanuel family visited also the Kibbutz El

Rom Studios in the northern heights, where a film on the battle in Emek

Habacha in the Yom Kippur War was screened. The family ended the day at the

Sharola meat restaurant next to Mapalei Soar.