JEWISH voice for Liberation (JVL) applauded a council for twinning with the West Bank city of Nablus today after it was accused of “marginalising the Jewish community.” 

JVL’s Mike Cushman defended Brent Council for “recognising the humanity of Palestinians which Israel constantly attempts to deny” after the twinning arrangement was criticised by some Jewish organisations and MPs in the Times.

He said: “The negative and petulant reactions from an array of people who have had little problem with the accelerating annexation of the West Bank, including multiple attacks on Nablus, is both predictable and disappointing. 

“Expressing solidarity and recognising the rights of Palestinians to continue to live in their own land in no way threatens the safety of Brent or British Jews. Any risk comes from the false assertions that Jews as Jews are comfortable with Israel’s breaches of international law.

“Brent Council must continue to listen to their residents who have, in large numbers, expressed their support for twinning and not the prejudiced opinion of The Times.”

The agreement was signed at the Nova Hotel in in Wembley on January 10 with the backing of the the Brent and Harrow branch of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which organised a petition with 1,849 signatures backing the initiative.

Nablus officials have allegedly celebrated the October 7 attacks on Israel, according to the Times.

Dr Nehad Khanfar, a leading figure in the Palestinian community in Britain, who signed it Nablus’s behalf, said comments attributed to him were “categorically… entirely false and without any foundation whatsoever.”

A Brent council spokesman said: “Twinning arrangements are a long-established civic tradition, used by councils across the country to promote cultural exchange and mutual understanding.”