Brent Council is facing mounting backlash after voting to twin the North London borough with an Arab city in Judea and Samaria.
Labour Councillors passed the controversial motion in May to establish an official partnership with Nablus (Shechem), despite a 2022 Carter Centre report that found seven of Nablus’s 15-member council are backed by or affiliated with Hamas. At the time, Council Leader Muhammed Butt claimed the decision would “affirm our commitment to solidarity, shared values and unity across borders.”
Brent’s own equality impact assessment also warned the twinning proposal might risk “compounding antisemitism” and cause “anxiety from some groups that the twinning may demonstrate greater support for one group over another.”
This week Jewish community representatives met with Butt and delivered a scathing rebuke of what they called a “more than disappointing” meeting.
“Brent Council’s long record of active support for community cohesion is now very much in question. We urge the council to step back from sectarianism,” the Board of Deputies of British Jews wrote in a statement following the meeting. “Brent Council’s proposed twinning will do nothing for peace in the region but risks the good relations of diverse communities in Brent.”
Amanda Bowman, Co-Chair of London Jewish Forum, similarly said: “The meeting was more than disappointing. While Brent Council has asked the Brent-Nablus Association to continue consulting, it has chosen not to pause implementation or reconsider its position. That is not meaningful engagement—it’s a box-ticking exercise. Jewish residents deserve better than symbolic gestures that ignore their concerns. We remain open to dialogue, but real trust is built through action, not afterthought.”
According to Jewish News, more than 1,500 residents have signed a petition demanding Brent immediately halt the twinning process. The petition organizer argues the decision “appears sectarian in nature” and alleges that Jewish, Hindu, Christian and LGBT communities weren’t consulted before the vote.
Labour Councillor Ihtesham Afzal, who spearheaded the twinning campaign while wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf, defended the decision as humanitarian rather than political.
“Twinning with Nablus isn’t about politics,” Afzal told Harrow News. “We will not allow the politics of fear and division to derail a simple act of solidarity, international friendship and collaboration for mutual benefit.”
Brent currently maintains just one other twinning relationship, with South Dublin, established in 1997 when the borough had Britain’s largest Irish-born population outside Ireland.
Vice Chair of the Brent Nablus Twinning Association (Credit: Instagram @ihtesham_afzal)
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