A Massachusetts city has decided against sending its police chief to Israel for counterterrorism training.
The Daily Hampshire Gazette reported Thursday that Northampton Police Chief Jody Kasper and Mayor David Narkewicz made the decision jointly. The mayor said it was best for the city, stressing that his decision was not meant to be pro- or anti-Israel.
The training would have sent Kasper to what was billed as a leadership seminar on preventing terrorism and extremism. It was organized and funded by the Anti-Defamation League.
City Councilwoman Alisa Klein, a dual Israeli-U.S. citizen, was against the trip.
She said policing in Israel has become increasingly militarized and "so-called counterterrorism tactics have not made Israel safer."
David Pakman of Northampton, who hosts a nationally syndicated radio show and who describes himself as "super Left," backed the trip, saying the training could have been valuable.
