San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is headed to Israel this week as part of the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation’s business delegation, looking to drum up ties in high-tech, biotech and green technology.

Newsom is scheduled to take part in a full-day clean-tech showcase on Israel’s industrial approach to alternative energy and bio-fuels. He’ll be the first San Francisco Mayor to visit San Francisco’s city’s sister city, Haifa, and he’ll meet with Haifa Mayor Yonah Yahav as well as Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai. He also expects to pay his respects at the Holocaust Memorial Museum, Yad Vashem, and at a memorial marking the site of Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination in Tel Aviv. And he’ll visit Umm el-Fahm, an Arab-Israeli town that is one of the sites for Echad – a Jewish Community Federation-funded program focused on early childhood education in the Arab-Israeli community.

And will this trip generate controversy? Hey, what do you think?

Barbara Lubin, head of the Berkeley-based Middle East Children’s Alliance, told KCBS radio it’s a cop-out for Newsom to go to Israel and not address its policies. ”People really don’t want to get into the real issues of Israel, because of course people don’t want to be called anti-Semitic. But it is really no more anti-Semitic to criticize the actions of Israel, than it is anti-American to criticize the actions of our government,” she said.

The planning committee which set up this trip is co-chaired by Cytokinetics Inc. President and CEO Robert Blum and Traiana Inc. Chairman Bobby Lent; joining them will almost 100 more senior-level executives and local Jewish philanthropists including Yitz Applbaum, economic advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the founder and general partner of Opus Capital. Also on the trip: Hillsborough City Councilman and JCF Vice President Thomas Kasten; Geolo Capital founder and JCF president John Pritzker; and Daniel Sokatch, the JCF’s incoming CEO and former executive director of the Progressive Jewish Alliance.

No, just kidding. But that’s what I think of whenever something is moved to “an undisclosed location.” The latest from the Associated Press:

SAN FRANCISCO _ Officials say the planned closing ceremony for the Olympic torch at the San Francisco Bay waterfront is canceled and another one will take place at an undisclosed location.

The ceremony had been slated to take place Wednesday at Justin Herman Plaza, where thousands had gathered to support and protest the Beijing-bound flame’s visit to the city.

Just before the relay began, the torch was rerouted about a mile away from the demonstrators and spectators. Officials say they changed the path because of security concerns.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom tells The Associated Press that a closing ceremony will still take place, but he would not specify where.

So what was intended as a public celebration glorifying China’s hosting of the Olympic Games was reduced to a pell-mell, cat-and-mouse pursuit ending at a secret site. China most certainly will not approve, but that’s democracy and free speech in action, folks.

I’m on a conference call with the California Clinton campaign. Here are some quotable quotes:

Luis Vizcaino, California communications director: This was “a great victory in the Golden State last night which demonstrates that California is still Clinton country.”

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa: “This is a bellwether state, so what happens here has an impact across the nation… The diversity of this state is like no place in the United States of America, maybe in the world.”

“We won big, in southern California particularly” on concerns about the economy, health care, etc. “This is a tremendous victory.”

Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Los Angeles: “Hillary Clinton has built a strong relationship with the Latino community over many many years… She committed not only to me but to others that she would come into the Latino community to campaign, particularly into East Los Angeles, which very often is overlooked.”

“She respected the Latino community, we knew we were important to the election, and she spent time there not only listening to our needs but also telling us what she wanted to do for the Latino community.”

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom: “At the end of the day, it is about hard work, its about organization, its about constancy in this campaign which really began over a month ago… when those absentee ballots arrived.”

“The Asian community turned out very significantly for Hillary Clinton, the LGBT community turned out very significantly for Hillary Clinton.”

Rep. Hilda Solis, D-El Monte: “The sleeping giant has awakend, the Latino vote is hear, and they really showed their colors last night.”

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles: Noting that Mimi Vitello of Van Nuys, who’d hosted a house party visit by Obama recently, ended up voting for Clinton instead, “It trumped the ‘message of hope,’ it was really about ‘Here’s the future, let’s go on a ride to the future.’ … I think she really found herself in the last two months of this campaign.”

“I think that the primary reason why Hillary Clinton won in California is because they (voters) read between the lines… and in the end they did exactly what Mimi Vitello did, which was evaluate the candidates on their merits.”

Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco: Asian-Americans “really believe in Hillary Clinton’s leadership… People felt very comfortable that we knew who we were voting for for President.”

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Los Angeles: “We should all be extremely proud of California, particularly since the posters and pundits had said it was even-Steven in California… As it turned out it was a spectacular win, the pundits were absolutely wrong.”

“It’s clear to me that Latinos and women really did create this win.”

“What Obama was able to do was collect a lot of little states, which made him look better. Many of those were caucus states, which did not at all reflect what would’ve happened in a primary.”

“I think we all have to get on message with the Latino vote and presence. There are some people who are trying to inject negativity into what is happening with Latinos and blacks.”

State campaign director Ace Smith: “This was a campaign that reached into every community… and one thing that we don’t get much credit for but was huge for this campaign was that we went out and talked to young voters.”

Supporters of John Edwards seeking a new candidate following his withdrawal from the presidential race today should look to Hillary Clinton “based on substance and merit,” Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums said this morning.

Dellums, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Fullerton Mayor Sharon Quirk spent Thursday barnstorming Oakland, Sacramento and Los Angeles on Clinton’s behalf. They started the day at Merritt College, where they were briefed on a green jobs training program before addressing the press.

Dellums said he was impressed in 2004 by Edwards’ “courageous” and “articulate” focus on narrowing the divide between America’s haves and have-nots, “and it is my view that Senator Clinton has done exactly the same thing.” By embracing the ideas and recognizing the needs of America’s mayors, as well as by deeming “untenable, unconscionable and un-American” the continued racial disparities in education, ecomomic opportunity and other areas, Clinton has distinguished herself “based on merit, based on substance, based on clear ideas,” he said.

“Too much of this campaign has been about issues that are not issues,” he said.

Newsom said the mayors chose to highlight the green jobs training program Monday because it’s working to better working families’ lives, protect the environment and conserve energy, and “that’s the spirit of the Clinton campaign… She understands the importance of taking these ideals and working together to make progress.”

Dellums chimed in that “jobs are the byproduct of a society’s commitment to solve other problems,” be it environmental protection and energy conservation, or crumbling infrastructure, or inadequate health care, or affordable housing. “And guess what: You can’t export these jobs. They all have to be done in the United States.”

Clinton in October named Dellums chairman of her campaign’s urban policy committee.

Villaraigosa was asked why Latinos should support Clinton when only Obama has expressed support for granting driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. He replied that Clinton “has a strong record in support of immigration reform” which would include a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, but that Latinos “don’t define ourselves by just one issue… We make decisions based on the totality of issues and experiences.”

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will barnstorm three cities tomorrow, Wednesday, Jan. 30, to hold press events promoting Hillary Clinton’s economic stimulus package. They’re bound for Oakland’s Merritt College in the morning, Sacramento’s Quinn Cottages at midday and Clinton’s East Los Angeles campaign headquarters in the late afternoon, talking on themes including the foreclosure crisis and the needs of working families.

And now, one day after Barack Obama’s campaign rolled out its California “truth squad,” Hillary Clinton’s campaign has unveiled its “rapid responders” in the Feb. 5 primary states, “a national group of truth tellers who will respond to inaccurate or misleading attacks directed at Senator and President Clinton,” the news release says.

In California, it’s state Controller John Chiang; state NAACP president Alice Huffman; San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom; Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles; and former U.S. Rep. Lynn Schenk, D-San Diego.

Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of truthiness! Perhaps we can have a Celebrity Deathmatch-type showdown — maybe Gavin can represent Clinton against Kamala Harris for Obama, or maybe a battle of the Lynns: Woolsey v. Schenk.

In my inbox first thing this morning from the Republican National Committee, a hit piece targeting Hillary Clinton entitled “HILLARY’S SAN FRANCISCO TREAT — Hillary’s National Co-Chair Signs Legislation Giving Benefits To Illegal Immigrants.”

As Hillary Travels To California, Gavin Newsom, San Francisco Mayor And Sen. Clinton’s National Co-Chair, Signs Plan To Issue IDs To Illegal Immigrants:

“San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom Signed Legislation Wednesday Requiring The City To Issue Identification Cards To Illegal Immigrants And Other Residents Who Can’t Or Won’t Apply For Driver’s Licenses.” (”San Fran OKs ID Card for Immigrants,” The Associated Press, 11/29/07)

Mayor Newsom’s Spokesman, Nathan Ballard: “The Mayor Strongly Believes That This Identification Card Should Be Extended To All San Franciscans, Regardless Of Their Immigration Status …” (Wyatt Buchanan, “Supervisor Ammiano Drafting Legislation For ID Card For Illegals,” San Francisco Chronicle, 9/7/07)

Newsom: “I Don’t Think It’s That Big Of A Deal …” (”San Fran OKs ID Card for Immigrants,” The Associated Press, 11/29/07)

Newsom Is Hillary’s National Co-Chair. “The Clinton Campaign announced the endorsement of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom … Mayor Newsom … join[s] the campaign as a National Co-Chair.” (Hillary Clinton For President, “San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom Endorses Hillary Clinton: Newsom Named A National Co-Chair Of Clinton Campaign,” Press Release, 8/10/07)

Hillary Will Be In California Today. (”Hillary Rodham Clinton,” The Washington Post’s “Campaign Tracker,” www.washingtonpost.com, Accessed 11/29/07)

Read the RNC release in its entirety here.

Keep in mind that some people have tried to claim that Democrat Newsom’s decision to issue marriage certificates to same sex couples in February 2004 cost Democrat John Kerry the November 2004 presidential election, scaring off “heartland voters” with his “San Francisco values.” Seems the GOP is going for a repeat…

During her big rally this evening in downtown Oakland, Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton was talking about the progressive values she’d like to see California export to the rest of the nation when she praised the work of “Governor Newsom.”

“Uh, Mayor Newsom,” she corrected herself, as San Francisco’s mayor blushed and bobbed and the crowd… went… WILD. “That’s what he told me to say, and I guess I can see why,” Clinton quipped.

Newsom is, of course, among rumored Democratic gubernatorial contenders for 2010. Among the others is state Treasurer Bill Lockyer, who was onstage for Clinton’s slip of the tongue and just smiled dutifully.

This comes courtesy of intrepid Tribune reporter Kelly Rayburn…

Few topics were off limits at a pre-Gay Pride Parade breakfast Sunday that brought a bevy of the city’s movers and shakers to the the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco.

Supervisor Tom Ammiano had a suggestion on how Mayor Gavin Newsom and Supervisor Chris Daly might settle their long-running feud, which reached a head last week when Daly raised the allegation that Newsom had used cocaine. Newsom angrily denied ever taking the drug.

“In terms of gay pride,” Ammiano said, “I think that Newsom and Daly should show that they have pride and have make-up sex, don’t you?”

The crowd of about 300 burst into laughter.

The breakfast was organized by the Alice B. Toklas Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Democratic Club. The keynote speaker was Elizabeth Edwards, wife of presidential hopeful John Edwards.

Newsom took the mic at one point, offering no comment Ammiano’s suggestion. Daly was not in attendance.

The 2008 presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., has tapped Bay Area political consultant Averell “Ace” Smith — who last year helped turn Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown into California Attorney General Jerry Brown — as its California director, overseeing the primary campaign’s day-to-day operations here.

“The thing that’s so appealling about working for Hillary is, first of all, she’s one of the smartest candidates to run for president in a long, long time — she’s incredibly impressive, and her heart is in the right place,” Smith told me this morning, adding he believes she’s the only one who truly cares that middle-class real wages are stagnant or falling while costs rise and the rich get richer.

Smith, of Kentfield, said California “is going to be really important for the first time since 1968 because of the Feb. 5 primary,” and the national press still haven’t caught up to the fact that this state’s early voting — which begins 29 days before the primary election — will deliver the first enormous bloc of votes to whichever candidate seizes people’s hearts and minds.

“So we’re going to organize every corner of the state and create a campaign that touches as many people as possible,” Smith said, adding Clinton will outstrip her rivals here “just with hard work, it’s really just that simple — We have a huge force of volunteers and everyone on the Clinton campaign is ready to roll up his or her sleeves and work day and night.”

Smith and his SCN Public Relations firm are well known in campaign consulting circles, particularly — at least, among his past opponents — for excelling at “opposition research,” the fine art of digging up dirt on one’s rivals. Besides Brown, his past clients have included San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.; U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.; former Gov. Gray Davis; Virigina governors Doug Wilder and Tim Kaine; former Texas Gov. Ann Richards; 2004 Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean; and many others.

“Ace is a talented organizer who knows California and knows what it takes to win,” Clinton said in a news release. “We’re lucky to have him leading our effort in the Golden State.”

In other campaign news, the 2008 presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., announced today that former California Secretary of State Bill Jones chair its California effort, meaning he will “take the lead on Senator McCain’s political outreach and use his years of statewide experience on major issues to help advise a successful statewide effort,” the release says.

“Bill is a respected public figure in California and I am proud to have him on board,” McCain — who’s speaking later today at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University — said in the release. “He and I share a belief in the need for renewed leadership in America and I look forward to the discussion with Californians about what our country can be capable of in the future.”

Jones — then California’s top Republican elected official — made a splash in 2000 by switching his support in the GOP primary from George W. Bush to McCain; here’s an interesting story about how, despite that endorsement, the primary-election rules Jones helped create weren’t so great for McCain’s cause. McCain came and stumped for Jones during his unsuccessful 2004 bid to unseat Boxer.

“John McCain’s established record of leadership will go a long way with California’s Republican voters. He has been a leader on our critically important issues for many years and understands the challenges facing California better than any other candidate,” Jones said in McCain’s news release today. “Senator McCain has shown throughout his life that he is capable of making difficult decisions based on a set of core conservative principles and that’s exactly the type of leadership Californians need for the future.”