Babylon- Olympic Cruise Lines

Olympic wants Israel to be a destination spot, like Paris or Rome. Don of course is prepared, Paris has the Effiel tower, Rome has the Colosseum. Olympic is charting their most luxurious liner along the ports of the Israeli Riviera, but all that will mean nothing if they continue to blow up hotels.

Olympic wants to be perceived as luxury and glamour, which is why they came to Sterling Cooper, but as Don pointed out, they are viewed by the public as dangerous. What Don should have pointed out is that no one wants to take a luxurious cruise along the Berlin Wall of through Auschwitz.

Olympic cruise lines are working with Israel to promote tourism to Israel which will in turn drive sales for Olympic. These people view Sterling Cooper as a glamorous agency; they don’t let them down when they provide caviar bilinis and mai-tais for the meeting.

America has a love affair with Israel and Olympic wants to bring the two parties together. Sal suggests they use an average family of 4, parting of the red sea with a 5 star hotel waiting on the other side. But Don and Olympic want to keep religion out of it.

Exodus will begin filming soon with Paul Newman. So they want to play up that.

Don needs inspiration, so he meets with ‘his favorite Jew’, even Rachel Menken wants to see this movie now that she knows Paul Newman will be in it. She finds it strange that he’s treating her like an expert in Israel, “I’m American and not very Jewish” she says proud yet timidly.

Jews have lived in exile for a long time, first in Babylon, and then all over the world, Shanghai, Brooklyn, we’ve managed to make a go of it.  Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we thrive at doing business with people who hate us.

I’ll visit, but I won’t live there, for me it’s more of an idea than a place.

DING DING DING Mr. Draper “utopia” the good place, and the place that cannot be.

Of course this is a double meaning for the relationship that they both want as well as about Israel.