hamidi's coverage of the syrian-israeli peace talks in shepherdstown aroused significant controversy. his outline of “the working document”, appeared dangerously similar to the actual agreement. the israeli press immediately pursued the story, saying that hamidi had leaked the information on orders from the syrians. the syrian team, on the other hand, accused him of leaking it through information obtained from the americans. the talks, code-named “mushroom diplomacy,” were supposed to be strictly confidential and allowed to grow—similar to mushrooms—in darkness.