Rocket Shelled Ashkelon Marked as Den of Apartheid by Sacramento Israel Haters, May Lose Sister City Bid
Latest update: August 13th, 2012
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Ashkelon Mayor Benny Vaknin didn't know his city was a den of apartheid policies until the good people of Sacramento told him so.
Photo Credit: Yori Yanover / JewishPress.com
While the Israeli city of Ashkelon has been physically assaulted by rockets and bombs hurled by Israel’s haters in Gaza, haters abroad are doing their best to assault Ashkelon in other ways.
There is a battle now taking place to prevent the city of Sacramento, California, from becoming a sister-city to Ashkelon, Israel. The battle is being waged on the internet and phone lines, in the lead-up to a Sacramento City Council meeting on the topic which will take place on August 14.
Radical anti-Israel activists are distributing hate literature portraying Arabs who live in Ashkelon as second-class citizens “without the same rights, benefits or access to land as Jewish Israelis.”
Sister-cities are cooperative agreements between cities in different countries which are created to promote cultural and business relationships and, according to Sacramento City Councilman Steve Cohn, the goal of Sacramento’s sister-cities program is “to promote peace, through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation.” But Cohn admitted that the vehement attacks against naming Ashkelon as a sister-city has hardly been in keeping with that goal.
According to a group calling itself, “No Human Rights, No Sister City,” Ashkelon is such a den of overt discrimination, that if Ashkelon is approved as a sister city it will expose Sacramento to law suits because “discrimination on the basis of national origin is prohibited in the U.S. and California constitutions.” Under this reasoning the more than forty cities across the United States which already have sister-city relationships with towns in Israel, many of which have been in existence for decades, are all vulnerable to discrimination suits. Those cities include New York (Jerusalem), Los Angeles (Eilat), Chicago (Petach Tikva) and Boston (Haifa).
The anti-Ashkelon activists also describe Ashkelon as having been the thriving “Palestinian” city of Majdal Asqualan whose residents were thrown out in waves of ethnic cleansing by Israeli military, starting in 1948.
The ancient Biblical connection between Ashkelon and the Jewish people is not included in the hate literature. Ashkelon is the site of the most famous haircut in Jewish history – it is where Delilah cut Samson’s hair, depleting his strength, in the famous Biblical story found in Judges XIV-XVI.
Although Arab Israelis have the same rights as do Jewish Israelis both in Ashkelon and throughout Israel, Sacramento does indeed have a sister-city where Apartheid reigns.
In 2009, the Sacramento City Council unanimously passed the Bethlehem Sister City Initiative, naming Bethlehem, Palestine as Sacramento’s sister city. It is in Bethlehem, not Ashkelon, where laws are based on ethnicity, where certain people are prevented from owning property, running for office, and are denied the rights and privileges granted as of right to other ethnicities – Jews are the officially endorsed discriminated against ethnicity in Bethlehem.
Barry Broad, a lawyer and novelist, was the chair of the Sacramento Jewish Community Relations Council in 2009. Broad is a pragmatist. He didn’t see anything wrong with allowing the creation of a sister-city relationship with Bethlehem, even though he was well aware that those promoting the efforts had no interest in developing peaceful relations with the Sacramento Jewish community.
Broad told The Jewish Press that the Bethlehem Initiative supporters “refused to allow the mainstream Jewish community to be involved with the effort.” He said he heard the people involved say some of the most anti-Semitic things he had ever heard, such as calling the Jewish Federation a “tool of a foreign government,” and stating as fact that “the Jews own the media.” He also was under no delusion about the Palestinian Authority government, which he described as a “fascist regime,” and he explained that the Christian Arab population in Bethlehem is being “pushed out by Islamic terrorists.”
But Broad still supported the Bethlehem Initiative. He and other members of the Sacramento Jewish community were satisfied because, when they approved the Bethlehem effort, the City Council at the same time issued a statement of intent that it would establish a sister-city relationship with a town in Israel.
The future is now, and the same people who clamored to have the earlier Bethlehem Initiative passed are now adamantly opposed to having Sacramento gain an Israeli sibling city. But, Broad points out, the threshold question has already been settled. He is confident that the Sacramento City Council will support its earlier decision.
tell a friendAbout the Author: Lori Lowenthal Marcus is the US correspondent for The Jewish Press. She is a recovered lawyer who previously practiced First Amendment law and taught in Philadelphia-area graduate and law schools.
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Sacramento should not give in to these people! Poor Ashkelon used to be such a beautiful place, and a tourist destination, but it's lost all that business because it is besieged by terrorist attacks. It is the Israelis of Ashkelon who have suffered enormously at the hands of the Palestinian extremists. I hope Sacramento understands this.
Shame on sacremento for believing these lies.
Sacramento isn't going to buy the lies of the Israel haters. Supporters of Israel will stop the BDS effort yet again.
I think Sacramento should do itself proud and not support Israel brutal and racist occupation of the Palastinians.
Don't ask for healthcare in the free Palestinian lands because they send you to the Israeli apartheid hospitals for treatment. Sorry you are undeserving of a country because all yo do is destroy and hate!!
You are a fool for making those statements. your Aran brethern treat you far worst thaen any Israeli .
If the occupation ended, the pals would have no need to seek treatment in Israeli aparthied hospitals but as the aparthied system is there, the Pals have no choice. Very shortly the UN will give the Palastinians non member state status at the UN, (there is no US veto) then its the internation criminal court for Israel.
Racist antisemitic fascist English trash. Like the overwhelming majoritx, vast majoroty of your ultra-despicable sinking – sunk – country…
Please Jewish Press act to delete inflammatory antisemitic comments uttered by snob rich white racist English filth. Thank you.
Mr. Ali is a partisan of hte openly antisemitic anti-Jewish pro-Israel-destruction British party masquerading by the name "Liiberal Democrats", when in fact it IS a fascist antisemitc political party as one of its neo-Nazi EU MP Chris Davies, attests to. Nothing out of the ordinary here folks. An Islamofascist Islamic Jew-hater in a racist British political party. We know their tunes perfectly and see throufgh them well.
When it come to being a 'facist' you would know about that than I would Frankl. Very shortly we will elect to give the palastinians non-member state and then it is the international criminal court for Israel……any organistaion or group which funds or indirectly funds the occupation will then be sued……hope your lawyers are ready…
Learn proper English first you illiterate analphabet buffoon! Are you British in any way, by the way?!
and you learn to get your facts stright. Israel is a country that operates an apatheid system – example palastinains being banned from using certain roads in the west bank- any decent minded person should oppose this racist and brutal israeli regime.
Andi Ali. The International Criminal Court for Israel but not for the murderers in Gaza and on the west bank who continue their war of murder and terror against unarmed Israelis? Golda Meier had it right. "When the Arabs put down their guns, there will be no more war. But when the Jews put down their guns there will be no more Israel." I am sure Mr. Ali would be just fine with that. He and his neo-Fascist friends. But the Jews will not be led to slaughter again. Not this time and never again.
All israel needs to do is end their occupation and aprtheid polices…….simple
You said it right and well tagsnola.
Who is occupying Gaza?
Bruce Thompson Hamas!
what? liberals are anti-Semitic? what's next? liberals that are pro-abortion?
I agree, so many cities in Israel are constantly being bombarded by terrorists. Shame on you, Sacramento, for giving in to those racists.
Nancy do your homework. Don't rant yet. They haven't decided anything yet. Write a comment in A sacramento newspaper or sign the above petition instead.
Christians United For Israel members have sent close to 20,000 emails in the last 48 hours. Add your voice:
https://secure2.convio.net/cufi/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=259&JServSessionIdr004=kut08v3p43.app214b
Sacramento making news around the world!
I am glad the numbers are climbing! May we continue to send a resounding message!
thousands of e-mails being sent to Samento urging them no to vote in Israel's favour until it ends it'sbrutal and racist occupation of Palastine.
Andi Ali is a partisan of the openly antisemitic anti-Jewish pro-Israel-destruction British party masquerading by the name "Liiberal Democrats", when in fact it IS a fascist antisemitc political party as one of its neo-Nazi EU MP Chris Davies, attests to. Nothing out of the ordinary here folks. An Islamofascist Islamic Jew-hater in a racist British political party. We know their tunes perfectly and see throufgh them well.
The UK Liberal Democratic Party is about as far from being a fascist party as you can imagine. Its economic policy is very free market oriented.
here here!
As far as Israel and the pro-Israel Jewish, even non-Jewish community is concerned, my comments is point blank apt!!!
I wonder if the folks working on this know that Portland, Oregon is a sister city to Ashkelon as is Baltimore Maryland. As President of the Portland-Ashkelon sister city Assn. I am happy to help in anyway possible.
such ignorance
The good guys won; the sister city agreement was unanimously approved by the Sacramento City Council last night.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/15/4726563/sacramento-council-approves-sister.html
Sacramento already had a sister city agreement with Bethlehem, a Palestinian city.