Mishaps galore as Israel tries to welcome U.S. Vice President

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Jerusalem Tuesday was not free of embarrassing moments.

The first occurred at the President's Residence, at the start of a meeting between Biden and President Shimon Peres. The plan called for brief remarks, which usually means a few minutes. But Peres spoke for no less than 25 minutes.

Throughout the speech, the vice president sat in his chair waiting for his turn to say something. American reporters and others present at the scene said the whole thing was very embarrassing, because, as one put it, Peres "gave a whole speech, going from one subject to another."

Many of those present were shifting uncomfortably in their chairs, the sources said, while Peres' aides exchanged worried looks and passed notes to each other.

In the end, his aides whispered to Peres that time was short, and he should hand the floor over to Biden - who did confine his remarks to a few minutes. The two then held their meeting, accompanied by their aides.

Ayelet Frisch, a spokeswoman for the President's Residence, later said the first part of the meeting was intended to be open to the media. "The president did take a little longer in his speech, speaking for about 23 minutes," she said. "However, there was no digression from what was agreed on with the Americans regarding how the meeting would be conducted."

Source : http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155416.html