Plans for the city of Madison, Wisconsin to become the “sister-city” of Rafiah – the southern Gaza village known for its weapons-smuggling tunnels – have been rejected by the city council.
Madison’s city council voted 9 to 8 in favor of the proposal. Due to abstentions, however, the motion did not receive the minimum 11 votes it needed to pass.
“After hours of impassioned debate, charges of McCarthyism and counter-charges of anti-Semitism, the City Council decided early Wednesday not to enter into a sister-city relationship with Rafiah,” reported the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
"It's really not up to us to take position on Middle East policies," said Madison’s Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, who promised prior to the council’s vote to veto the resolution had it passed.
Two American cities have been twinned up with PA-controlled towns already. Bethlehem is the sister-city of Burlington, Vermont, and Jericho has the same relationship with Calipatria, California.
The Jewish Agency for Israel initiated a project in 1995 called ‘Partnership 2000’ in which North American cities were paired up over 40 Israeli towns and cities across the Jewish State in order to foster a connection between Israelis and Jews still in the Diaspora.
Madison’s city council voted 9 to 8 in favor of the proposal. Due to abstentions, however, the motion did not receive the minimum 11 votes it needed to pass.
“After hours of impassioned debate, charges of McCarthyism and counter-charges of anti-Semitism, the City Council decided early Wednesday not to enter into a sister-city relationship with Rafiah,” reported the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
"It's really not up to us to take position on Middle East policies," said Madison’s Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, who promised prior to the council’s vote to veto the resolution had it passed.
Two American cities have been twinned up with PA-controlled towns already. Bethlehem is the sister-city of Burlington, Vermont, and Jericho has the same relationship with Calipatria, California.
The Jewish Agency for Israel initiated a project in 1995 called ‘Partnership 2000’ in which North American cities were paired up over 40 Israeli towns and cities across the Jewish State in order to foster a connection between Israelis and Jews still in the Diaspora.