A London council leader has been accused of religious sectarianism by members of the Jewish community over plans to twin his borough with Nablus, a city in the Palestinian West Bank.
Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council, met with local Jewish leaders on Wednesday, July 9, but was described as “more than disappointing,” with critics saying the meeting felt like a box-ticking exercise rather than a genuine consultation.
Phil Rosenberg—President of the Board of Deputies—said the
proposed twinning will do nothing for peace in the region but risks the good relations of diverse communities in Brent. We want to see our council focused on addressing our significant shared local challenges without embarking on misplaced initiatives relating to international affairs.
Nablus is known as a stronghold of Palestinian militant activity, including the Lion’s Den group. Some Brent residents have also raised concerns about imagery in the area showing armed Islamists.
In a separate incident, a post-October 7 queer Jewish musical was cancelled by the Phoenix Arts Club in Soho after online backlash. Israeli actor Roi Dolev had planned to stage his new show, Useful Idiots, but the venue cited safety concerns after receiving critical Instagram messages from people who hadn’t seen the performance.
Previously, Dolev has said that
Being queer and Jewish, I found for the first time that I did not belong in queer spaces which I always belonged in before.
The cancellation, especially in London’s heart of gay nightlife, appears to support Dolev’s point. The venue initially cited safety concerns but later raised issues with the show’s content and asked him not to speak publicly about it.
The campaign against Dolev is typical of the militant approach now taken towards ‘pinkwashing,’ where the socially liberal approach to gay rights taken in Israel is actually just a public relations exercise targeting Palestinians. This is despite homosexuals in Israel enjoying more legal freedoms than their peers across the entire Middle East and North Africa region.
