By JAN FILIPOWICZ

ROME– Statuesque Moroccan actress Samya Abbary spearheaded a fond farewell party this week by Roman friends for Israeli Ambassador Gideon Meir whose request to stay at his post for yet another year in Rome sadly was rebuffed by the Israeli foreign ministry given his close connections to the scandal-tainted "bunga bunga" reign of Silvio Berlusconi, diplomatic sources say.

 Fun-loving Meir enjoyed as long as five and half years of the dolce vita in Rome masterminded by his wife Amira and had requested a further year in the Eternal City but the Israeli foreign ministry considered his links to the Italian right were so close that a new emissary needed to be in place to start a new chapter with the Government of Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, said the sources. Meir’s sojourn was seen by many observers as excessively laid back in spite of his close links cultivated with Berlusconi and Gianfranco Fini, who both bent over backwards to establish their credentials with the Jewish state and dispel Israeli suspicion of traditional anti-semitism in Fini’s “post-fascist” National Alliance party, which was a key member of Berlusconi’s centre-right coalition government.

 In all about 100 guests enjoyed a menu of sushi, cous cous, risotto ai funghi and pasta e ceci at the party on the terrace of the Rome home of Raffaele Sassun, president of the Italian chapter of the Israeli ecological charity KKL. Samya Abbary, anchorwoman of the NonSoloModa programme on Berlusconi’s Canale 5 channel, was resplendent in a black tubino dress and a gold and gem-studded necklace.

 The evening climaxed with a toast to the envoy washing down dessert of tiramisu and montblanc as well as a tropical fruit tart.

 Among the highlights of Meir’s tour was a well-attended Israeli cultural evening held at the Foreign Press Association in Humility Street, as foreign journalists call the Via dell’Umiltà.

 Meir previously served in the Israeli foreign ministry and was No. 2 at the Israeli Embassy in London where he was entangled in a financial scandal within the mission but was fully exonerated of any wrongdoing, leaving him free to pursue his meteoric career, the diplomatic sources said.