Villaraigosa to lead trip to Israel

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will travel to Israel next month for a weeklong mission devoted to security, counter-terrorism and green technologies, aides announced Tuesday.

Villaraigosa will lead a delegation of city officials and about a dozen religious and business leaders June 11-18, his third overseas trip since taking office nearly three years ago.

The mayor’s office released the name of only one delegation member outside of City Hall: Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

Spokesman Matt Szabo, who said the list is being finalized, described the mission as “a short targeted trip that will focus on security and green technology exchange.”

But the trip also could help Villaraigosa buttress his relationship with Los Angeles’ Jewish community, an always important political constituency in the city.

Villaraigosa’s itinerary calls for him to sign an agreement to bring experts from Ben Gurion International Airport to review security at Los Angeles International Airport and other city-owned airports.

The mayor also is expected to sign an accord calling for Los Angeles to provide guidance about green measures taken at its port in exchange for expertise on how to better secure the mammoth facility in San Pedro, one of nation’s busiest.

City officials said they also want to expand their relationship with the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism, which would provide training for the Los Angeles Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies.

Villaraigosa will spend the bulk of his time in Jerusalem. He has meetings scheduled with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, President Shimon Peres, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski, among others. He also is scheduled to meet Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai and visit a school in that city.

His schedule is expected to include a tour of Israel’s seaport of Ashdod and a visit to Sderot, a desert town near the Gaza border that has faced repeated rocket attacks by Palestinians and has become a must-stop for American politicians. Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, stopped by in March.

Villaraigosa also will meet with water experts to discuss conservation.

He will be joined by several top city leaders, including City Councilmen Jack Weiss and Dennis Zine. The list includes Department of Water and Power General Manager David Nahai and DWP board President Nick Patsaouras; port General Manager Geraldine Knatz and harbor Commissioner Doug Krause; Gina Marie Lindsey, general manager of the city’s airport agency, and Airport Commission President Alan Rothenberg.

Szabo said the still-undetermined cost of the trip will be paid by the mayor’s travel budget and by the semi-independent departments that oversee the DWP, airport and port.

Villaraigosa traveled to Asia two years ago for a 16-day trade mission. He went to El Salvador and Mexico last May for a mission that was cut short when police beat demonstrators and journalists during an immigrant-rights gathering in MacArthur Park.

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duke.helfand@latimes.com