By Neil W. McCabe

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone has been picked April 5 as one of 13 mayors in the nation to participate in the 23rd Annual Jerusalem Conference of Mayors. 

“This is great honor for me and for the city of Somerville,” said Curtatone. 

“It’s a chance for me to learn about challenges faced around the world and it’s a chance for mayors from around the world to learn about some of our innovative programs here in Somerville,” the mayor said.

The week-long event is sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and by the American Jewish Congress-Council for World Jewry, which covers all the mayors’ costs, he said.

Curtatone said the 13 American mayors will be joined by nearly 60 mayors from cities in over 30 countries in South, Central and North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. This year’s conference is entitled “Leading the 21st Century: Multiculturalism, Security, Preservation and Development.”

During the April 10-16 event, the mayors are scheduled to meet with Israeli President Moshe Ktazav, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, Industry, Trade and Employment Minister Ehud Olmert, and Housing Minister Isaac Herzog.   They will also participate in daily sessions hosted by Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski to discuss issues facing municipalities around the world. 

“This will be a real opportunity to hear what’s happening in diverse places across the globe,” Curtatone said. 

“We’ve already had visitors from outside the U.S. who are interested in our Somerstat program and I’m looking forward to learning about innovations being employed in cities around the world,” he said.

The mayors will tour both historic and modern sites in Jerusalem, visit Yad Vashem, the holocaust memorial, and Yad Sarah, a social services facility in Jerusalem.  They will also travel to the Golan Heights, Caesarea, Masada, the Dead Sea Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee and the Christian holy sites around it.