Civil Society

Barcelona cuts ties with twin city Tel Aviv citing Israeli ‘apartheid’
Europe, Civil Society

Barcelona cuts ties with twin city Tel Aviv citing Israeli ‘apartheid’

The move from the city's mayor follows pressure from pro-Palestinian, feminist, immigrant and LGBT+ organisations. Barcelona has severed ties with twin city Tel Aviv on the grounds that Israel’s treatment of Palestinians amounts to “apartheid”. Speaking at a press conference, Ada Colau, the city’s left-wing mayor, said: “More than 100 organisations and over 4,000 citizens have demanded that we defend the human rights of Palestinians and for this reason, as mayor, I have written to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to inform him that I have suspended temporarily the institutional relationship between Barcelona and Tel Aviv”. Spain's Jewish federation said in a statement in response to the move: "It is worrying to note that the actions and legitimacy of only one city and one count...