The Green-led council voted overwhelming to reconsider the borough’s sister cities partnership amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and in light of a UN Commission of Inquiry concluding Israel committed genocide against the Palestinians
Hackney’s Green-led council has voted to trigger a controversial review into the borough’s twinning with an Israeli port city, which could see the decades-long partnership come to an end this year.
At a full council meeting on Tuesday (July 28), the council agreed “in principle” to axe the sister cities partnership with Haifa in Israel, following the Hackney Greens’ manifesto commitment to do so “as soon as possible” in power.
The council has agreed to establish a cross-party working group to review all of Hackney’s historic twinning relationships, several of which have been dormant for decades.
Mayor of Hackney, Zoë Garbett, said: “Given the ongoing humanitarian crisis, and the gravity of the UN Commission of Inquiry Reports concluding Israel has committed genocide, maintaining a civic connection with what is widely recognised [as] a military port city is fundamentally at odds with our anti-racist values.”
Council reports state the Hackney-Haifa ‘sister cities’ partnership has been largely limited to hospital exchanges between Homerton Hospital and Rambam Medical Centre, stretching back roughly three decades, but this has lain dormant since the swaps were paused amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), however, argues that any and all civic ties must be severed in protest against the “racist domination” faced by Palestinians, adding that Israel’s alleged flouting of international law is further enabled by arms manufacturer Elbit Systems, headquartered in Haifa.
The vote followed a heated debate, the third on the issue in two years, after de-twinning was twice rejected by the previous Labour administration.
Opposition groups attacked the move as “performative” and “disgraceful” as they emphasised the partnership’s civic aspect. Cllr Ben Lucas (Labour) said his party was “unequivocal in our abhorrence of the devastation and violence in Gaza caused by the Israeli government, and we utterly condemn the Hamas terrorist attacks,” but criticised what he called a “performative gesture” that would divide communities.
“The resident-led twinning with Haifa was forged in 1968, nearly 60 years ago, in a spirit of working-class solidarity. It’s multi-faith, multi-ethnic, and built most notably on the noble idea of medical cooperation,” he said. “Far from showing solidarity, trashing that civic link signals that we abandon them, and it prevents dialogue and robust accountability with our friends.”
Conservative Cllr Simche Steinberger attacked the ruling party for moving to terminate “the only twinning” that had established a medical exchange in Hackney, and lambasted the lack of engagement with his six-strong group of Jewish members.
“To be quite frank, I think this is naivete more than anything else. The only winner in all of this is going to be Haifa. It’s a disgrace,” he said. He noted that the Green Party was “the second-biggest” group on the progressive Haifa city council.
But Green councillors hit back. Cabinet Member for Finance, Cllr Florence Schechter, invoked her “deeply-held” Jewish heritage and values as she denounced the “horrors” committed by Israel that she said were endangering Jews in the UK.
“If the people in Britain want to fight rising antisemitism, the first thing we must do is condemn the genocide in Palestine,” she said.
Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure, Resilience and Business Standards, Cllr Sam Mathys, stressed that the working group she will chair will be a cross-party effort and invited opposition members to contribute to this process.
On Wednesday (July 29), the council confirmed the working group will explore “new, ethical twinning models with a focus on partnering with municipalities engaged in peacebuilding, climate justice, and local democracy movements”. The final decision is expected to be voted on later in the year.
Tuesday’s vote was preceded by protests and counter-protests outside the Town Hall, where one Pro-Palestine activist was apparently captured throwing an egg at opponents.
The PSC praised Hackney Council for kickstarting the process to cut ties and said they hoped the move would encourage other councils to follow suit. However, in an official statement on social media, President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Phil Rosenberg, echoed criticisms made in the council chamber as he accused the Greens of showing their “ignorance and bigotry”.
“Haifa is a diverse city, widely seen as a model of ethnic and religious coexistence. The city is led by a progressive mayor and its council includes representatives from Green, Arab, and Communist parties. If the Hackney Greens had any genuine interest in peace, they would celebrate Haifa, not censure it.
“This vote represents the prioritization of spite over sense,” he said.
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