Council recognising their town's link with Gaza is ‘important' says Jewish group
Last week, Hastings Borough Council, in east Sussex, passed a motion to back an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, an end to all arms sales to Israel and to support the town's friendship links with the people of Al-Mawasi – a section of the Gaza strip.
The decision comes after multiple attempts over the past 21 months to bring a ceasefire motion prior to the recent local elections, which changed the make-up of the council.
The motion was carried by a majority of 14 Green and Hastings Independent Group MPs, with three voting against and 11 abstentions, mostly from Labour councillors.
Hastings Jews for Justice have welcomed the decision, they said: 'We stand with the Palestinians in Gaza who are being slaughtered and starved right now and we demand immediate action of our politicians.
'We applaud all the councillors 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'.'
Proposing the motion, Green Party councillor 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?'
In December 2023, Al-Mawasi was designated a safe zone by the IDF and Palestinians were urged repeatedly to relocate to the area.
Since then, the area has been repeatedly attacked, one of the most deadly was July 13 2024, where Israeli jets bombed Al-Mawasi, killing 90 people and injuring 300 displaced Palestinians, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.
Hastings Friends of Al-Mawasi group has been building a friendship and language exchange with the Palestinian area over the past few years.
Mr Smith said: '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.'
Hastings has become the most recent in a line of UK councils to pass a motion calling for an immediate 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.'
The Green leader of the council, Councillor Glen Haffenden, has reportedly received more emails on this subject from his residents than on any other subject since becoming a councillor.
Hastings campaign group Friends of Al-Mawasi says there has been a 'marked escalation of threatening and abusive behaviour' towards anyone in the town showing sympathy or support for Palestine over the past few weeks.
Sussex Police have confirmed that an investigation is ongoing after a woman was allegedly assaulted while wearing a Keffiyah at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill.
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