A California pro-Israel organization is pleased that the state's capital city has chosen to ignore the controversy and team up with an Israeli city.
The Sacramento City Council voted unanimously on August 14 to partner with the city of Ashkelon, despite opposition from Palestinian Americans and other groups. Opponents of Israel argued at the meeting that Israel is responsible for displacing Palestinians from Ashkelon when the city was created.
Jewish News (JNS.org) reports that the Sacramento-Davis chapter of the pro-Israel education and advocacy group StandWithUs handed the council a petition signed by 3,500 people in favor of the partnership. Christians United for Israel also collected signatures in support of the initiative.
Roz Rothstein, CEO of StandWithUs, says the city council made a good decision.
"We were happy to participate, and thankfully the council saw through it and stuck with their bill to name Ashkelon as the sister city of Sacramento," she comments. "We know that will be an excellent partnership for both cities, a very positive partnership."
In 2009, Sacramento partnered with Ashkelon to match Sacramento's affiliation with Palestinian-controlled Bethlehem.