Outrage in Brent over decision to twin London borough with Nablus in West Bank

Outraged members of the Jewish community in Brent have condemned a vote by the local council last month to twin the London borough with the Palestinian city Nablus.

Despite the British government advising against all but essential travel to the northern West Bank town, the motion to officially twin Brent with Nablus was passed by the Labour majority council on May 14. Brent Council – of which 49 seats out of the total 57 are occupied by Labour Party members – voted to twin to promote “cultural, social, economic and educational exchanges”.

Brent Council has voted to twin with Nablus, in the West Bank (Credit: X)[Missing Credit]

Last week, a newsletter from Wembley Synagogue sent to community members began: “We can hardly believe it… Given the worldwide reputation of the city of Nablus as a hotbed of anti-Jewish terrorism, this is a shameful decision by the council. In effect the Jewish citizens of Brent are being told that the Borough of Brent does not care a fig for what we think.”

One Jewish Brent resident told the JC: “None of us even knew that a twinning campaign was happening. We were completely blindsided. Nobody in Brent outside of some Muslim community circles were consulted about it.

“Had we been, we would have organised some opposition, we would have expressed our view that we don’t want to be twinned with a hotbed of anti-Jewish terrorism. In what world would I, a gay Jewish atheist, be welcome there?

“Would my Hindu and Christian neighbours? I fear that any cultural exchanges that take place between Nablus and Brent would be very much one-way.”

A petition on the borough’s website calling on the council to immediately halt the process of twinning has so far been signed by more than 1,300 people who live, work, or study in Brent. The petition alleges that the twinning was done for “political symbolism”, is “sectarian in nature” and that minority populations resident in Brent, including Jewish, Hindus, Christians, and members of the LGBT community, were not consulted before the vote.

It argues that Brent’s residents, especially children, should not be exposed to the rhetoric of militant groups residing in Nablus such as Lions’ Den (Areen al-Usud), which is based primarily in Nablus’ Old City. The petition also cites a 2022 Carter Centre report that found seven of Nablus’ 15-member council are backed by or affiliated with Hamas.

Brent Council has voted to twin with the West Bank city of Nablus (Photo: Getty)Getty Images/iStockphoto

 

Ian Collier, 70, a Brent resident for his entire life, is fronting the petition. “The twinning is a very divisive and thoroughly unhelpful move,” he told the JC. “It basically throws Brent’s Jewish community under the bus. We could have chosen to twin and exchanged culturally with any number of neutral municipalities around the world. Instead, Nablus was chosen, a place in which many Brent residents would not be welcome.

“The council should be prioritising stability and cohesion within the borough above all else, not opining on geopolitics. It’s a politically motivated decision and purely sectarian.”

Back in 2022, the council’s own equalities impact assessment report on the proposal to twin raised concerns that it may risk “compounding antisemitism” and that “there may be some anxiety from some groups that the twinning may demonstrate greater support for one group over another”.

Israel supporters outside Brent Civic Centre[Missing Credit]

In December last year, the council voted to consider twinning. Labour council leader Muhammed Butt told the BBC this month that the decision to go ahead had “followed a period of public engagement, including a petition signed by more than 2,000 residents”.

Wembley Hill ward councillor Ihtesham Afzal, organiser of the twinning campaign, said the scheme would “raise awareness about what’s happening in Palestine”.

Writing in the Kilburn Times last month in an article titled “On the right side of history”, Afzal wrote that he was “proud” to spearhead the campaign that he said amounted to a “powerful statement of solidarity, compassion, and our borough’s unwavering commitment to international justice”.

He wrote: “In a time when the international community has failed to hold Israel accountable for decades of illegal occupation, settlement expansion, and human rights abuses, we must do what we can with the powers we have.”

He said through twinning, Nablus and Brent could do “cultural exchanges, sharing art, history, culture, tradition, poetry, language along with architecture.

“We’ll be collaborating for the mutual benefit of both Brent and Nablus.”

On July 7, Brent council will be meeting to discuss the de-twinning petition and hear from at least one speaker who opposes the twinning.

Afzal and Brent Council Labour Group were approached for comment.​