Hackney council in east London is consulting residents on ending its 1968 twinning with Haifa, Israel, citing human rights concerns amid the Gaza war. The move reflects a broader trend of cities reassessing international partnerships.
01Summary
- 01Hackney, a Green Party-led London borough, voted on July 28 to end the twinning in principle. The consultation runs until October 14. A final decision will follow a review of the borough's twinning policy.
- 02The twinning with Haifa, Israel's third-largest city, was established in 1968. The council cited its values and human rights commitments due to Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.
- 03Modern town twinning grew after World War II. Coventry and Stalingrad (now Volgograd) established a friendship link in 1944, often seen as the first modern twin-city relationship.
- 04Several UK councils suspended or ended links with Russian cities after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Prague ended its relationship with Beijing in 2019 over a Taiwan dispute.
- 05Twin cities are places in different countries linked by formal agreements supporting school exchanges, cultural events and civic visits, though many become inactive.
02Why it matters
This matters because town twinning is often symbolic, and ending a link allows councils to make political statements. It shows how local governments use symbolic ties to respond to international conflicts and human rights issues.
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