Police Chief Blasted For Israel Training Trip

Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman encountered substantial community opposition Thursday night for taking a weeklong anti-terrorism trip to Israel.

The normally brief public comment period at the start of the Fire & Police Commission lasted three hours.

Commenters’ concerns included fears about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents deploying en masse in Milwaukee, high-speed chases harming bystanders and facial recognition technology.

But most of the comments centered on the immoral and unethical behavior Norman is alleged to have engaged in by attending a 2025 training with the Jewish Institute for National Security of America.

Norman, as featured on the JINSA website, attended the training with FBI members, two sheriffs and the chiefs of the Nashville and Albany police forces.

The program is described as a “best practices” exchange between Israeli counterterrorism practitioners and U.S. law enforcement.

“I think if nothing else, it was poor judgment,” said activist Brian Verdin. The chief, said Verdin, should have known the training would engender criticism, given how many marches have taken place in support of the Palestinian people. “You should have known a whole lot of us are opposed to the genocide taking place.”

Activist Ron Jansen called Norman a fascist and a coward and gave the most fiery testimony of the meeting. “In the middle of a f—ing genocide, he went to go visit the Zionist entity of Israel,” said Jansen, while Norman sat silently in the front row.

Commissioner Jeff Spence interrupted, saying Jansen didn’t have the right to come here to “just demean people.” Chair Miriam Horwitz, a former deputy city attorney, said Jansen shouldn’t swear or use “overly inflammatory rhetoric.”

Jansen said thank you, then turned toward Norman. “F— you, Chief Norman.”

Among the more than two dozen people who spoke were Milwaukee Turners Executive Director Emilio De Torre, Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression leader Alan Chavoya and Black Leaders Organizing for Communities head Angela Lang.

“What we’re seeing is a police department that continues to operate out of control,” said Chavoya. “We want safety, robust public safety, and what MPD is doing is not that.”

“This isn’t a routine training exchange,” said Ihsan Atta. “By traveling to an apartheid state, the chief has aligned our law enforcement with a government whose top leadership faces arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

Atta said Norman’s trip wasn’t “just a policy failure. It’s a moral and legal failure that compromises the integrity of the entire department.”

In 2024, Atta allowed a controversial mural about the Israel-Palestine conflict to be installed on a building he owns. It was later defaced.

“This is a profound moral failure,” said Karen Spire. “We now see how Zionism and our police are tied together.”

FPC Executive Director Leon W. Todd III said he didn’t believe any public funds were used for the trip. He said Norman did properly notify the board of his trip.

Commissioner Krissie Fung said she did not believe she had received notice of where he was going, which Todd said should have been included. “We can look into it,” he said.

Fung said it was an “oversight failure” that the commission couldn’t review travel to a “genocidal state.” She said during a closed session performance review of Norman, she had called the trip “unconscionable.”

Norman, said Todd, is required to give notice when he is out of the city for more than 48 hours. The Israel trip lasted six days.

The chief, through the Milwaukee Police Department, responded with a statement Friday: “At last night’s Fire and Police Commission meeting, members of the community and various organizations shared their concerns regarding my recent training trip to Israel. I want to sincerely thank everyone who took the time to express their thoughts and experiences.

Community feedback is invaluable, and I do not take it lightly. I am honored to serve a diverse community—one that includes a wide range of perspectives.

In 2025, I was invited to participate in the Homeland Security Program in Israel, sponsored by the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) and the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA). This program, established after 9/11, facilitates the exchange of best practices between U.S. law enforcement and leading counterterrorism experts. Given today’s global security challenges, I viewed this as an important opportunity to learn strategies for preventing and responding to terrorism—knowledge that ultimately enhances the safety of the entire community I serve.

As a leader, I believe in lifelong learning. Every experience, including the feedback I received last night, is part of that journey. I want to assure you that your comments were heard and taken seriously.”

A commenter questions Jeffrey Norman during a Jan. 22 Fire & Police Commission meeting. Image from City Channel.