German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Israel on Sunday for a three-day official visit.

Here, Merkel is seen trying a local wine produced in Sde Boker from local vines.

This is the third time that Merkel has come to Israel since she became German Chancellor.  Immediately after being greeted by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at Ben Gurion Airport, Merkel flew by helicopter with President Shimon Peres to Mitzpeh Ramon to make a brief tour of the Negev.  She went to Kibbutz Sde Boker and paid her respects at the grave of Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion.    During her stay in Israel Merkel will be revisiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial and Museum and will also be addressing the Knesset in German, the first German chancellor ever to do so to do so.

[Isranet photo]