Prime Minister Reports on President's Travels

Today's post is just a little quirky piece of Israeli law.

I recently saw a public notice in Reshumot, the official gazette for the publication of records and laws in Israel, that made me do a double take. It is a notice "signed" by the Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, notifying the public that the President, Shimon Peres, left the country for 3 days. That's all it says.

Apparently, according to the Basic Law: The President, the Prime Minister must notify us of the President's travels outside the country:

24.(b) The Prime Minister shall publish a notice in Reshumot as to the President's leaving the territory of the State and as to his return.

This is the notice in Hebrew:

הודעה על יציאת נשיא המדינה את גבולות המדינה ועל שובו

לפי חוק–יסוד: נשיא המדינה

בהתאם לסעיף 24(ב) לחוק–יסוד: נשיא המדינה , אני מודיע על יציאת נשיא המדינה את גבולות המדינה ביום ב' באלול התשע"א (1 בספטמבר 2011) ועל שובו ביום ה' באלול התשע"א (4 בספטמבר 2011).

י"ב באלול התשע"א (11 בספטמבר 2011) (חמ 3—1300)

בנימין נתניהו

ראש הממשלה

Now this notice was published on September 26, 2011 even though the President had already returned by September 4th. I guess we just need to be apprised of the President's travels but not for the purposes of knowing his itinerary.

I checked the President's website but didn't see any press release for those dates, so maybe it was a pleasure trip. If you live in another country and met with the President between September 1st and 4th, please let me know.