Ehud Olmert, former mayor of Jerusalem and now Israeli prime minister, just happened to be in town for a little peace conference, so Martin O?Malley, his old pal as former mayor of Baltimore, had him over to the house for some chicken salad sandwiches and political talk.
Whisked in by a flag-waving motorcade from his morning of talks and speeches with President Bush and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas blocks away at the Naval Academy, Olmert and his hour-long lunch at the governor?s residence created an intense bubble of high security around the already well-patrolled State House complex.
“We talked about a lot of things,” O?Malley said afterward ? the peace conference, the recent special session of the legislature, and “believe it or not, for a couple of seconds we did” talk about slot machine gambling. The governor said, “I can?t believe I?m talking about slots to the prime minister of Israel,” a remark he also made to Olmert. “They were interested,” O?Malley said.
The two leaders, with a few aides, also chatted about national politics. O?Malley told Olmert of his support for Hillary Clinton and how the Clintons had helped his campaign last year.
As Jerusalem?s mayor, Olmert visited O?Malley in Baltimore, and O?Malley met with him in Israel. “We kept up a sort of long-distance awareness of each other?s political journey,” the governor said. “It?s a nice relationship to have.”
“It?s an interesting thing about the job of mayor, whether you?re the mayor of Jerusalem or mayor of Baltimore or mayor of any city in the world,” the governor said. “The job is very, very similar, and people who have had that job share a certain kinship and understanding. We?re all about making our cities cleaner, healthier, a better place for kids to grow up. We hit off when we first met.”
“I think all of us have to be very proud that this important dialogue is happening here and some day peace may come of it,” O?Malley said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
