Preston council invites Hebron mayor – a convicted terrorist – to deliver address

Hebron's mayor Tayseer Abu Sneineh (Getty Images)Middle East Images/AFP via Getty

In a statement the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester and Region said: “It is beyond comprehension that a local authority would seek to engage with an individual who has engaged in terrorism.

“By extending this invitation the council has shown appalling judgment that risks bringing Preston into disrepute.”

The local Jewish community in Preston had previously voiced strong objections to the council‘s decision to pursue a friendship agreement with Hebron, describing the move as “hopeless” and a source of “profound outrage”.

Tayseer Abu Sneineh, Mayor of Hebron, during a session at the city's municipality hall in the West Bank (Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images

The local authority began its hunt for a “friendship partner” last year in response to calls from 14 of Preston’s mosques amid the war in Gaza, according to a report in the Lancashire Telegraph.

The impact of the local authority’s decision to choose Hebron, and the manner in which it was made, led the Jewish community to formally withdraw all cooperation from the council, citing deep concerns over what they saw as a misguided and damaging initiative.

In a letter sent to the council by Preston-based barrister Jeremy Dable, a representative of the Liberal community – the city’s only Jewish community – accused the council of giving “licence to those who intend to harm us”.

Sent on behalf of Lancashire and Cumbria Liberal Jewish Community, Dable informed the leader of the council of the decision to terminate any ties after a period of “consultation” over the friendship proposal.

An aerial view of HebronGetty Images

Dable accused council leader, Matthew Brown, of “acting in bad faith” during the period of consultation.

“Your so called ‘consultation’ has been a blatant sham. Not one of my criticisms or concerns raised in writing on behalf of our community and noted in meetings has been responded to, either meaningfully or at all,” Dable wrote.

He said the “final straw” was invoking his attendance as a representative of the “Faith Covenant” at a meeting about friendship, without mentioning what Dable had said at the meeting. “Your cynicism knows no limit. You will not get another chance to mention my name or our community in such a way.”

Dable drew attention to the history of violence in Hebron. He cited “constant threat against Jewish residents” in Hebron. “It is in territory which has been disputed since it was occupied by the invading army of Jordan in 1948,” Dable said, and he criticised the council for not acknowledging “this history of persecution of the Jewish residents of Hebron”.

He also referred to anti-LGBT+ violence in the West Bank city.

His letter went on: “It is the effect upon Preston and our tiny Jewish community which concerns us most. Hatred of the state of Israel and its right to exist is the latest form of the ancient hatred of Jews. It is a fig leaf, used by all but the willfully blind to justify every bigoted attack on Jews for millennia.

“Most of our community never expected to witness this again in our lifetimes; at least not in this country. Yet some of us have experienced this hatred personally over recent years, ever since Preston City Labour Group first raised the Palestinian flag in 2014.”

An aerial view of Preston city centre (Getty Images)Getty Images

Dable went on: “We have begged you not to show bias by favouring one side of the dispute only by seeking official and formal ‘friendship’ with the civic functions of Hebron, without at least doing the same with a community in Israel. Our calls fell on deaf ears. Our time given freely has been wasted.

“We have watched Labour city councillors take part in support of hate rallies, standing by while the destruction of Israel is called for in slogans and chants.”

In response to the letter, leader of Preston City Council, Matthew Brown, told the JC that the authority has a "strong record opposing antisemitism and all forms of racism by supporting initiatives like Show Racism the Red Card when we worked with several Jewish members of that organisation to confront hate and prejudice in Preston.”

He said he was “saddened” by the letter from Dable, “We take all forms of intolerance seriously and abhor any form of intolerance directed at any community.”

The council leader added: “We have tried to foster open and peaceful debate and have brought communities together to build trust and understanding. We have extended the hand of friendship to Hebron in the hope of expressing friendship principally with Hebron and all our discussions with all communities have been undertaken in the spirit of open and honest dialogue. Even if we did not always agree on the outcome, we heard and seriously considered, all views.”

Brown added that residents in Preston have “strongly expressed” concerns about the “killing in the region” and that the council had “always been clear that we will continue to pursue a possible friendship with an Israeli town or city.”

“The decision to pursue a Friendship with Hebron is one we have taken after serious consideration and ongoing discussion with our Faith Covenant representatives. It was extensively debated at the City Council’s meeting and voted on as our democratic system requires. It is through this exercise of democratic decision making that the decision to progress the arrangement was made.

“We appreciate that this is an emotive and difficult issue, our reasons for pursuing this friendship are humanitarian. We wish to highlight the suffering of those who live in the region and to extend the hand of friendship in doing so.

“We have a strong tradition of developing relationships with international cities and often these are borne out of attempts to build bridges in difficult times.”

In response to the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester and Region, Brown said the council was pursuing the friendship “in the spirit of peace and community and in support of the people of that city and the wider region. In doing so we do not endorse any individual and continue to condemn intolerance and violence of any kind.

“We are informed that 40 places across the world have a relationship with Hebron, including Spain, France, UK, Italy and Greece and the establishment of our relationship with Hebron has been led and facilitated by the British Palestinian Friendship and Twinning Network.

Membership of the steering group formed to help progress the friendship with Hebron is entirely discretionary and is for those who would like to be involved and support the friendship agreement. We involved our Faith Covenant Members in a consultation event led by the British Palestinian Friendship and Twinning Network prior to Council agreeing to the friendship relationship with Hebron and we asked the Faith Covenant Members from each faith community if they wanted to join the steering group in the spirit of partnership.

“We have no intelligence to suggest that there is a direct threat posed by any party in this friendship which is being pursued in the spirit of friendship and tolerance,” Brown said.

In March, the JC exposed anti-Jewish messages in Preston’s Labour group WhatsApp. In the leaked group chat, a Labour councillor sent offensive messages about the local Jewish community and suggested last summer’s race riots were funded by “Zionists”.

A Labour spokesperson said at the time: “The Labour Party takes all complaints extremely seriously and they are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures. Where behaviour is found to have fallen below the high standards we expect, action will always be taken in line with Labour Party rules.”