In 2009, the Sacramento City Council designated Bethlehem in Israel as one of Sacramento’s “Sister Cities.” Tomorrow, the council is set to vote on whether to make Ashkelon, Israel, a Sister City as well, and anti-Israel groups are frantically working to kill the initiative:
Supporters and protesters are expected to pack Sacramento City Council chambers when it decides whether to become a sister city with Ashkelon, Israel.
The council has a vote planned Tuesday on whether to add Ashkelon, a frequent target for bombs from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
The California capital already has joined up with nine cities, including what it calls “Bethlehem, Palestine,” and has been discussing adding an Israeli town for several years.
Those opposed to becoming a sister city with Ashkelon have waged an active campaign, claiming that Arabs there are second-class citizens and that other Arabs were evicted from the area following Israel’s 1948 War of Independence.
Israelis in Ashkelon live under constant threat from Hamas rocket attacks, and suffered regular casualties and injuries before the deployment of Iron Dome. The city falls within the pre-1967 borders, so the objection to Ashkelon as a Sacramento Sister City has nothing to do with territorial disputes — it’s about opposing Israel’s existence, and shoring up the fringe U.S. arm of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.
“This is a fundamental attack on Israel’s existence,” said David Brog, executive director of Christians United for Israel, who is leading an effort to support the Sister City initiative. “Luckily, those opposing the Sister City relationship obviously represent a radical fringe of American opinion.”
Brog added that the pro-Israel community “cannot afford to be silent.”
CUFI sent out an action alert urging supporters to contact Sacramento city council officials on behalf of the Sister City initiative. According to the group, there have been 22,500 responses to the action alert since it was launched last Thursday. CUFI members will also be in attendance at the city council vote tomorrow.
We should hurl 15,000 rockets at Sacremento then ask them.
speaking of Bethlehem, it is the location not only of Biblical history but of a Jewish holy site, Rachel's Tomb. The tomb was repeatedly attacked by Palestinian Authority armed forces in the 2000-2001 period, apparently trying to drive away the Israeli army detachment protecting Jewish visitors to that holy site. More recently, the PA has claimed that the site –known for centuries as a Jewish holy place– is really the site of a Muslim personality's tomb. If I remember rightly, UNESCO recently agreed with the false PA description of the tomb.
where is Barack Obama, Israel's new BFF? or does he only get involved in "local" disputes when they involve people who look like they could be his son? n nyour point about Ashkelon being in undisputed territory is interesting, and it gives the lie to the idea that "the settlements" are the problem. n nwhat I find most sad is that the people living in Ashkelon are utterly blameless; they're regular old people just like you and me. but look at the raw hatred they engender, just because they are Jews! yet they get peppered with rockets with Hamas on one side and dissed by American lefty loons on the other. and that seems to be just fine with most of the world.
Google Maps shows Bethlehem as being located due south of Jerusalem in PA territory. It would only be in Israel if the West Bank were annexed; or have I missed something?
yes, Bethlehem –at least most of it is in a PA zone. However, Rachel's Tomb is located there and according to the Oslo 2 accords, an Israel army detachment is stationed there to protect Jewish pilgrims and the short stretch of road from the old Green Line to the Tomb is under Israeli control too as per the accords. But in 2000-2001, the PA was trying to drive Jews and the IDF in particular away from there. Many Jews believe that the Israeli govt of the time, the Rabin-Peres-Beilin govt, had no right to reassign Rachel's Tomb and other Jewish holy places to PA control or to put them under PA jurisdiction. So the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel's Tomb are under Israeli army control, whereas Joseph's Tomb in Sh'khem [Nablus] was also supposed to be under IDF control but PA forces attacked it in 2000, killing one soldier and driving the IDF away, at least temporarily.
Thank you Sacramento for making Ashkelon, Israel your sister city. Just as you signaled solidarity with the Palestinian people by previously making Bethlehem your sister city, the Jewish people also appreciate your support. n nAshkelon, as a part of Israel is not disputed by the Palestinian Authority. But other Palestinians, such as many of those that spoke out against the sister city move dispute the right of Israel to exist entirely. n nThey agree with the Palestinians from the Hamas ruled Gaza Strip that innocent civilians should be killed on a regular basis in Ashkelon by missile attacks. n nWhile claiming that Palestinian refugees are entirely the fault of Israel, they believe it would be just to kill those Jews that they could not expel from Israel. n nI believe the issue of what happened to the refugees in the era of the creation of Israel is not so black and white. Almost a million Jews from Arab areas became refugees at that time. Many Palestinian refugees left voluntarily or under Arab orders. The state of war was initiated by the Arab side that attacked the nascent State of Israel. Larger similar population transfers occurred in that decade in Europe and India and there is absolutely no protest. n nThis issue and many more form the basis of the quest for a peaceful compromise between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. With your support, I pray that a peaceful solution will be negotiated one day. n