In defiance of BDS, Hempstead, NY signs sister-city pact with Samaria council
The township of Hempstead in upstate New York has set an excellent example:
The Samaria Regional Council signed a sister city pact with the town of Hempstead New York, as part of a series of events it held in the United States to solicit support for Jewish communities over the pre-1967 lines.This should make clear that, when anti-Israelists ply their trade, it'll only lead to counter-messaging.
“This marks a victory against boycotts and in support of the import and export of the culture and industry that has placed the Samaria region on the international map,” Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan said.
He issued a few brief remarks to the Hempstead politicians and community leaders who held a special ceremony with him in their town earlier on Monday to mark the new bond between them.
“In the Shomron, our population grows 10% a year, after boycott, after terror, after delegitimization. From this spirit of survival we are building our future,” he said.
The largely Republican town of over 750,000 has stood strongly for Israel and against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
It was one of the first New York municipalities to pass anti-BDS legislation to ensure that the town only signs contracts with entrepreneurs who reject acts of what it described as “economic hostility.”
It has already signed sister city contracts with two other Israeli communities, Pardes Hanna-Karkur and Haifa.
Labels: anti-americanism, anti-semitism, dhimmitude, islam, Israel, New York, United States
