LONDON: A Jewish advocacy group has praised an English local council’s recognition of “friendship links” with the Gazan town of Al-Mawasi as “an important act of solidarity” after councilors passed a motion backing an immediate ceasefire in the region, it was reported on Friday.
Last week, Hastings Borough Council voted to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, an end to arms sales to Israel and continued support for its civic ties with Al-Mawasi, an area in southern Gaza that was declared a safe zone by the Israeli military in December 2023, but has since faced repeated attacks.
Hastings Jews for Justice welcomed the move.
“We stand with the Palestinians in Gaza who are being slaughtered and starved right now, and we demand immediate action of our politicians,” they said.
“We applaud all the councilors who chose to stand on the right side of history and used their voice and their vote to fight these crimes against humanity.
“And we reject the idea, shared by several Labour councillors during the debate, that standing up for a people facing genocide is an attack on Jewish people in our community or ‘divisive’,” they added.
The motion, which had been attempted several times over the past 21 months, passed following the local elections that changed the council’s political makeup.
It was carried by a majority of 14 Green and Hastings Independent Group councilors, with three voting against and 11 abstentions, mostly from Labour.
Proposing the motion, Green Party councilor Yunis Smith said: “We must ask ourselves, when the dust settles, will we have done enough? Will we be able to say that we stood up even when it was difficult?
“Or will we, like generations before us, say that we saw the signs and still we did nothing?”
Smith added: “From one coastal town to another, we’ve shown that solidarity, dignity and human connection shine brighter than cruelty. Al-Mawasi, like Hastings, is defined not just by its land but by the resilience of its people.
“They survive, endure and beckon us to witness their struggle and their strength.”
The friendship between the two communities has been fostered by Hastings Friends of Al-Mawasi, which has developed a language exchange and solidarity program in recent years.
The group said there has been a “marked escalation of threatening and abusive behavior” in the town toward those expressing support for Palestine.
Hastings has now joined a growing list of UK councils that have formally called for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Hastings Jews for Justice added: “This is an important act of solidarity with a people who are being made to suffer in the most horrific ways imaginable and we are determined to show that as British Jews it is not in our names.”
Council leader Glen Haffenden of the Greens has reportedly received more correspondence from constituents on the issue than on any other since being elected.
Meanwhile, Sussex Police have launched an investigation following reports that a woman was assaulted while wearing a keffiyeh at the De La Warr Pavilion in nearby Bexhill.
