Scud threat sends embassies looking for shelter in Jerusalem

The Jerusalem Post ^ | Jan. 23, 2003 | HERB KEINON

[yonif]

What Israeli diplomacy was unable to do in 50 years, the threat of Scuds on Tel Aviv may succeed in doing overnight - force foreign embassies to relocate, if only temporarily, to Jerusalem.

The German embassy, for example, has a contingency plan in case of a US war on Iraq that includes downscaling the embassy's staff to the bare minimum, and moving them to a Jerusalem hotel.

One German official said the reason the embassy will be moved to Jerusalem, rather than Eilat - where a few other embassies have reportedly made inquiries - is because the whole idea of staying here in time of war is to be in close contact with the government.

"What good would it do for us to be in Eilat," the official said. "Who would we have meetings with in Eilat."

An official at the US embassy denied reports the US embassy was planning to move to Eilat during wartime. The official said the embassy has contingency plans for an emergency, but would not reveal them.

The same was true at the British Embassy. "We have plans for all emergencies, not just this one," one official said, politely declining to reveal whether the embassy's staff would be evacuated, or where the embassy would move. The only thing the official would confirm was that it was not considering relocating to Eilat.