Key Points
- East London’s Hackney Council scheduled a full council vote on a cross-party motion to terminate its nearly six-decade-old twinning agreement with Haifa, Israel. Al Jazeera
- The partnership, established on July 26, 1968, aimed to encourage friendly contacts and cultural exchanges between ordinary citizens, but has remained dormant since the COVID-19 pandemic. Al Jazeera
- Proponents of the de-twinning, including local activists and the Green Party, cite opposition to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and a petition from the Hackney Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Al Jazeera
- Figures from the Hackney Anglo-Israel Friendship Association (HAIFA), former local officials, and the National Jewish Assembly (NJA) strongly condemned the move, warning it will stoke social dis-cohesion, target a model city of coexistence, and incite hostility toward Jewish communities. Hackney Citizen
- Under newly elected Green Mayor Zoë Garbett, the council also faces broader demands to divest its pension fund from firms linked to Israeli military activity. Hackney Citizen
London (The Londoner News) July 28, 2026 — East London’s Hackney Council prepared to vote on a contentious motion to formally sever its historical twinning ties with Haifa, Israel, marking a dramatic flashpoint driven by local political shifts and prolonged fallout from the conflict in Gaza. The London Borough of Hackney and Haifa—Israel’s third-largest Mediterranean city—initially established their twinning arrangement on July 26, 1968, under the banner of fostering grassroots cultural exchanges, trade, and mutual understanding. However, nearly six decades later, the future of this diplomatic pairing has become the focal point of intense domestic friction, pitting pro-Palestinian municipal leadership against alarmed local Jewish groups and community organizations.
Why Is Hackney Council Proposing to ‘De-Twin’ with Haifa?
According to municipal documents published ahead of the vote, the push to repeal the partnership stems directly from sustained public petitioning led by groups such as the Hackney Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC).
As reported by Al Jazeera, the motion has been brought forward in vehement protest against Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and the subsequent humanitarian crisis within the enclave.
The political landscape of the borough shifted significantly during the local elections in May, when the Green Party seized control of Hackney Council from the ruling Labour Party.
The Green Party has historically maintained a staunchly pro-Palestine platform, turning the total termination of the Haifa link into a core campaign issue.
As detailed by Hackney Citizen journalist local reporting teams, the council proposed establishing a cross-party working group chaired by a senior councillor to review twinning policies, alongside immediate steps for newly elected Green Mayor Zoë Garbett to write to the Mayor of Haifa to formally register the termination views.
What Has Been the History of the Hackney-Haifa Partnership?
For decades, the partnership operated under the traditional framework of international civic pairing, though its practical application had slowed significantly in recent years. According to Hackney Council briefs, the formal connection has remained largely “dormant” since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In practical terms, the primary active bridge between the two municipalities over the last three decades consisted of professional medical exchanges between Homerton Hospital in London and Rambam Medical Centre in Haifa.
While former Labour Mayor Caroline Woodley previously resisted calls to dissolve the partnership or alter pension fund investments—arguing that such moves would unnecessarily inflame community tensions—the political transition to the Greens cleared the path for the current revocation proceedings.
Mayor Garbett recently engaged directly with the PSC, committing the administration to investigate the exclusion of companies deemed “complicit in territorial human rights violations” from the council’s pension portfolio.
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How Have Jewish Groups and Community Leaders Responded?
The move has drawn swift and severe condemnation from British Jewish organizations and local community figures, who argue that targeting Haifa is deeply counterproductive and divisive.
As reported by the Hackney Citizen, figures from the Hackney Anglo-Israel Friendship Association (HAIFA) and former Hackney speaker Linda Kelly slammed the published proposals as “absolutely disgraceful”. In a joint statement cited by the Hackney Citizen, they criticized local leadership priorities:
“It’s a pity the new councillors don’t spend more time on education and SEND funding, policing, NHS and housing in the borough instead of trying to politicise something that isn’t, and has never been, political.”
Hackney Citizen
Echoing these concerns, local resident Asher Eisen told the Hackney Citizen that the de-twinning initiative would act as
“a real kick in the teeth for the progressive forces in Israel.”
Furthermore, Martin Sugarman, chair of HAIFA, issued a stark warning regarding the social consequences of the vote. As published by the Hackney Citizen, Sugarman stated that:
“The de-twinning will create huge social dis-cohesion and be seen for what it really is: an incitement to hate Jews and Zionists and Israelis, an invitation to daub our streets with Jew hate slogans and posters, and incite violent individuals to attack Jews whenever they can.”
These sentiments were reinforced by a formal statement from the National Jewish Assembly (NJA). Condemning the Green Party’s trajectory, the NJA emphasized that Haifa is widely recognized as one of Israel’s most prominent examples of multi-ethnic and religious coexistence, where Arab and Jewish citizens routinely live, work, and study side by side.
As stated by the National Jewish Assembly:
“Targeting Haifa does not advance peace; it targets one of the clearest real-world examples of Jews and Arabs living, working and thriving together in a shared society. If the Greens genuinely believe in coexistence, they should be strengthening ties with Haifa, not severing them.”
The NJA further argued that single-minded political campaigns against the Jewish state establish a double standard not applied to other global administrations, questioning the philosophical consistency of the council’s human rights platform.
What Are the Next Steps for the Council and the Twinning Programme?
As the full council convened on Tuesday evening to debate the sweeping changes, both the Hackney Labour Group and official council spokespersons largely declined to expand further until a definitive, democratic decision was rendered on the floor.
The schedule before councillors required evaluating the mechanics of ending the relationship, navigating potential equalities impact assessments, and coordinating future advisory reports.
Whether the motion passes cleanly or triggers deeper procedural delays, the debate has already cemented itself as a profound test of how international geopolitics increasingly reverberate within British local governance—leaving community cohesion in East London hanging heavily in the balance.
