As the Sacramento CA city council prepares to vote on adopting a “Sister City” relationship with Ashkelon, a coastal city in Israel, pro-Palestinian supporters are promising to pack the city council meeting and voice their opposition.
One of the chief opponents of recognizing a city in Israel at this time is David Mandel, of Jewish Voice for Peace. Mandel is an “American-born Jew who” won’t support the measure until there are “human rights for all, equality for all.” (Mandel has previously been active in the Israel Divestment Campaign’s push to convince the California Public Employees Retirement System to divest from stocks like Caterpillar, Bank Leumi, Bank Hapoalim, and others that are viewed as pro-Israel stock holdings.)
Ironically, it was just three years that the Sacramento city council voted to recognize a sister city in Palestine. Having done that, the council thought it only right to also vote for such a city in Israel.
A sister city in Palestine and a sister city in Israel seems like it should meet the criteria of “equality for all.”
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.