UK councils twinned with Israeli towns and cities stand by municipal ties

Several UK local authorities are continuing to maintain controversial sister city relationships with towns and cities in Israel even as campaigners they called on them to cut ties with the country over its conduct of the war on Gaza.

The port cities of Newcastle and Portsmouth both have twinning arrangements with the port of Haifa in Israel’s north, while the south coast town of Bournemouth is twinned with the Israeli resort of Netanya.

In London, the borough of Hackney is also twinned with Haifa, while Barnet is twinned with the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan.

Just north of London, the borough of Elstree and Borehamwood in Hertfordshire is twinned with the central Israeli town of Shoham.

A sister city or twinning agreement is a long-term relationship between two communities in different countries, aimed at fostering international friendship, cultural exchange and sometimes mutual economic benefit.

But a number of councils have faced calls to end the relationships amid growing outrage prompted by Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza in which more than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed and Israeli leaders face accusations of genocide and war crimes in international courts.