Brent Council passes ‘divisive’ Nablus city twinning motion
Cllr Neil Nerva, Jewish Labour cabinet member on the North London council, walks out in disgust ahead of vote to twin with the West Bank city
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
Brent Council has voted to consider twinning the borough with the West Bank city of Nablus in a move branded “divisive” and which led to a leading Jewish cabinet member staging a walk out ahead of a vote.
A motion tabled by Wembley Hill ward Labour councillor, Ihtesham Afzal was backed by a majority on the north London council with the claim that twinning with a Palestinian city “speaks to who we are and what we stand for”.
But the motion, which will now be subjected to report on its viability and delivery, left Conservative, Lib Dem and some Labour councillors fuming.
Cllr Neil Nerva, Cabinet Member for Community Health and Wellbeing, and a longtime official in the Jewish Labour Movement, told the full council meeting that Brent should be trying to “promote and enable community cohesion” at a time of great tension as a result of the conflict in the Middle East.
“Twinning undertaken in a one-sided way in an area of conflict, where there are varying narratives, can do the exact opposite – create community discord inside Brent,”added Cllr Nerva. “The very opposite of why we, regardless of party, were elected as councillors.
“Given Brent’s make-up, we no doubt could have twinned with numerous towns and cities, and we can probably have a flag waving every single week of the year. Perhaps because of that diversity we have held back from twinning.”
Another senior London Labour figure told Jewish News after the November 18th meeting they believed the “time had come for my party to launch a proper investigation into the conduct of Brent council under its current leadership.”
They added:”We are inundated with complaints about drug dealing, burglaries, litter and the increased chaos around train stations like Willesden Green, but a twinning with Nablus is deemed more important by some.”
Conservative councillor Michael Maurice slammed the ‘very divisive’ motion and tabled an amendment calling for a twinning arrangement with Ramla, a city in Israel.
Cllr Maurice said: “One side decided it did not take into account the diversity of the borough and the fact that, I think, the Hindu community is actually the biggest community in Brent. They are basically excluded from this.”
Liberal Democrats Group leader Cllr Anton Georgiou also noted Brent’s diverse population, and suggested the motion should be withdrawn as a mark of respect for “everyone” in the borough.
Ahead of a vote on the controversial twinning Nerva left the chamber in disgust.
But the objections to the motion did not succeed and after it was voted through, Cllr Afzal posted on X saying it was an “honour to present and pass motion supporting twinning Brent with Nablus, in Palestine.
“As something we’ve been planning for years, thank you to everyone for their support. We must all do all we can, to get freedom & justice.”
An analysis of Cllr Afzal’s social media feed on X showed it was dominated with support for the Palestinian cause, and less frequently with posts about local issues.
During the meeting, where he was backed by members of Brent and Harrow Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Afzal claimed his motion was in respect of the ‘significant number of residents of Palestinian heritage’ in the borough.
The motion claumed it offered opportunities for young Brent residents to visit the Palestinian territories, and would allow young Palestinians to come to the borough to “share and develop a bond” over their experiences in education, sport, and culture.
Brent has a sizable Jewish community, and includes Brondesbury United Synagogue and the Makor Hayim community.
In September a plan to divest from companies connected to Israel was discussed by the council.
Despite the success nationally of the Keir Starmer leadership in defeating the influence of the hard-left, Brent Labour still has a significant pro-Momentum faction.
Hackney Council last week rejected a move to de-twin from Haifa after Labour councillors there said the move would end a successful 50 year long civic collaboration.Hackney Council rejects PSC bid to detwin borough with Haifa
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