Joe Salmon, a city councillor in the British city of Bournemouth, called for the city to “de-twin” from the Israeli city of Netanya in a bid to protect its “reputation” amid the war in Gaza, The Telegraph reported.
Salmon, who is a member of the Green Party, put forward a motion for the seaside resort in Dorset to end its association with Netanya, which has been twinned with Bournemouth since 1995.
He claimed that the “plausible case for genocide” against Israel meant Bournemouth should protect its reputation by severing its ties with the town.
Salmon’s call comes after signs twinning Netanya with Bournemouth were removed from four separate locations around the Dorset town in a coordinated campaign, according to The Telegraph.
The proposal sparked fury from Bournemouth’s sizeable Jewish community and saw dozens of pro-Israel activists stage a counter-protest outside the town hall during the meeting.
Henry Schachter, a Holocaust survivor and member of the Bournemouth Jewish community, said, “We have been keeping a very low profile so as not to antagonize the Palestinian supporter group, but after nine months of this protesting, Jewish people are starting to get a bit fed up. It’s time we have a little bit of kickback.”
Stephen White, of the Bournemouth Community Hebrew Congregation, said there was a deep strength of feeling against the motion to de-twin Bournemouth with Netanya.
A spokesman for the Bournemouth Palestine Solidarity Movement said they will continue to campaign for Bournemouth to end its association with Israel.
“Although the motion was removed from the agenda, our fight to untwin Bournemouth from the apartheid regime on trial for genocide continues. Racism, anti-Semitism, apartheid, and genocide are not the principles on which the people of BCP stand,” said the spokesman, according to The Telegraph.