Lansing Mayor Andy Schor visits Israel with mayor coalition
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LANSING − Lansing Mayor Andy Schor is visiting Israel with a bipartisan delegation of U.S. mayors as the country draws international attention for legislative changes that would dilute its separation of powers.
The visit is taking place this week between the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the American Jewish Committee.
Schor is making the trip with Bryan Barnett, mayor of Rochester Hills, and the mayors of: Knoxville, Tennessee; Arlington, Texas; Waterloo, Indiana; Boca Raton, Florida; Richmond, Virginia; and Union City, Georgia.
The visit is the fifth annual delegation of U.S. mayors sent through Project Interchange, a program that connects international leaders with Israeli governance and culture.
“This experience in Israel provides American mayors the opportunity to learn about and see in person a dynamic and exciting democracy in a complicated part of the world,” Tom Cochran, CEO of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, said in a press release.
The release said that visiting mayors will “meet with municipal and civil society leaders to discuss best practices for leading diverse cities, integrating immigrants, addressing homelessness, and assisting residents living with disabilities,” along with meeting academics and experts on Israeli politics and culture.
Schor’s visit comes during protests against proposed legislative changes that would weaken the country’s separation of powers as embattled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu.
The proposals would allow Israel’s parliament to overrule the country’s supreme court decisions with a majority vote and would give politicians more control over the nomination of judges, according to CNN.
Following backlash to these proposals from protestors and U.S. President Joe Biden, who said “that democratic societies are strengthened by genuine checks and balances” on a call with the Israeli Prime Minister, Natanyahu scaled back some measures of the plan but continued to push for key aspects that would afford him greater power.
The Monday morning release from the American Jewish Committee did not reference the proposed legislative changes or protests against them.
Contact Sheldon Krause at skrause@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @sheldonjkrause.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing Mayor Andy Schor visits Israel with mayor coalition
