Barnet Council has passed a motion to explore a twinning partnership with the northern Israeli city of Haifa.
It comes after Hackney Council decided to cease its own twinning arrangement with Haifa – which had been in place since 1968 – under its new Green leadership.
Yesterday’s motion at the council meeting was put forward by the Conservatives, who all voted in its favour. All Labour councillors abstained from the vote while the lone Green representative opposed it.
Such a partnership between the two cities would explore potential cooperation on best practice in areas including healthcare, education, and interfaith activities.
Conservative councillor Raffy Lachter, who revealed to JC readers two weeks ago that he would be proposing the motion, told the JC what the partnership could look like going forward.
“My vision is to officially twin Barnet with the city of Haifa,” he said. “But what I’m most excited for is what the ties can achieve, like meaningful cooperation in healthcare, education, and research.”
“There are two universities in Haifa, and we have the University of Middlesex in Barnet. We have Barnet General Hospital, and they’ve got Rambam Hospital. There are real opportunities to connect.”
The relationship between Rambam Hospital in Haifa and Homerton Hospital in Hackney had been fruitful over several decades up to this year, with approximately 80 nurses from the north London hospital travelling to Israel to learn vital medical skills.
“They have really cooperated on things like trauma treatment and healthcare, and with that now being severed by Hackney, we want that to continue with Barnet General Hospital,” Lachter said. “These are real things that can make a difference to residents’ lives in Barnet.”
A Homerton nurse at Rambam Hospital (Samantha Rose)[Missing Credit]
The motion itself says that one of the first points of action will be to invite Haifa’s mayor to “enter discussions with the London Borough of Barnet with a view to establishing a twinning relationship”.
It also requests that Barnet Council officers “examine the potential benefits, costs, governance arrangements, and practical requirements associated with the partnership”.
In total, the motion had 29 votes in favour, all from Conservative councillors; one vote against, from Barnet’s sole Green councillor; and 29 abstentions, all Labour councillors. Four councillors (two Conservative, two Labour) did not attend the meeting.
Lachter and his Conservative colleagues were “shocked” by Labour’s decision not to join them in voting in favour of the motion.
“We thought it was something that everyone could get behind,” he said. “Haifa is the most diverse city in Israel. It’s a multicultural city. It’s a city where Arabs and Jews rub along and work together, so we thought it was appropriate.”
“Anyone who knows Israel and knows the city will understand that, and many of the residents in Barnet would also understand that.”
“It’s really clear to us that Jewish issues can only be trusted with the Conservative Party.”
Also at yesterday’s meeting, Labour councillor Barry Rawlings, who is the leader of Barnet Council, put forward a motion stating that “antisemitism is racism”.
It recognised the “unacceptable targeted attacks on our Jewish community, including stabbings as well as arson attacks on Hatzola ambulances and synagogues”.
And it condemned the ‘Zionism is racism’ motion passed by the Green Party at their conference earlier this month.
“The concentration on an abstract concept such as ‘Zionism’, rather than defined individuals or organisations, enables the implication of antisemitic ideas [and] the denial that this is taking place, and hinders the ability to refute such hateful rhetoric,” the motion stated.
It passed resoundingly, with 58 votes in favour – all Conservative and Labour councillors who were present – and one against – Green councillor Charli Thompson.
“It’s all well and good making a grandiose statement like that that everyone can get behind,” Lachter said of the motion. “But when it comes to the actual detail, to strengthening links between Barnet and Haifa, between our residents and Israelis – there’s no substance there from Labour.”
Thompson, meanwhile, claimed that the motion contained “highly inaccurate information”.
“The motion claims that the Green Party has committed to campaigning against the IHRA definition of antisemitism and the Jerusalem Declaration,” she said. “This is not true […] so that needs to be removed from the motion.”
“I’m not able to make amendments because nobody will second my amendments,” she added, to the amusement of the room.
Green councillor Charli Thompson raising a point of order about the 'antisemitism is racism' motion (Barnet Council)[Missing Credit]
The motion was also challenged by Beau Sebastian, a self-described “member of Jewish Greens and observant antizionist Jew” who attended the meeting as a member of the public.
He asked Rawlings: “How did you assess the Jewish community and your motion, and how does it include antizionist Jews like me and members of my synagogue? If it does, why weren’t we consulted?”
Rawlings informed the room that “members across the chamber have received many emails from Jewish residents, and Jewish residents have told us in person how distressed they were by the motion that was passed by the Green Party”.
“That is echoed by the position of the Board of Deputies, the London Jewish Forum, the Jewish Leadership Council, all four major Jewish newspapers in the country, the Chief Rabbi, and the Movement for Progressive Judaism,” he continued.
“And the consultation question is an interesting one,” he added. “Of the 230,000 members [in the Green Party], 1,022 voted for [the ‘Zionism is racism’] motion. Less than 0.5 per cent. There was no consultation amongst the Greens across their membership.”
“If the Greens did not want to consult with their own members, your criticism should be with the Green Party and not with me.”
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