Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert cancelled his scheduled appearance at Penn last Thursday, citing Israel's upcoming elections.
Olmert was supposed to speak before a crowd of more than 500 people about "Democracy in the Middle East," said Nursing sophomore Gabrielle Mashbaum, one of the coordinators of the event.
Mashbaum said she received a call from Olmert's office on Wednesday morning, informing her that the mayor needed to remain in Israel.
"The Israeli governor is preparing for elections, and on Wednesday morning the prime minister of Israel requested that the mayor stay in Israel," Mashbaum said.
Olmert himself called Mashbaum on Friday morning to apologize and to discuss the possibility of rescheduling the visit for next semester.
In lieu of the mayor's talk, the organizers put together a small discussion with a few student leaders and a representative from the Israeli Consulate in New York.
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