PM rejects invite to ceremony for chopper disaster

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has rejected an invitation from parents of soldiers killed in the IDF's helicopter disaster during the first Lebanon War, Israel Radio reported on Tuesday morning. Olmert, invited to the ceremony marking 10 years since the disaster during which 73 soldiers were killed, sent a videotaped speech as a replacement that was to be played during the ceremony. Parents of those killed were insulted by Olmert's response, emphasizing that the prime minister had been notified of the ceremony two months in advance. They added that the videotape would be returned to the prime minister.