CAM Urges Barcelona to Reject BDS Pressure and Preserve Twin City Ties With Tel Aviv

Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) CEO Sacha Roytman Dratwa sent a letter to Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau on Monday, urging her to preserve the Spanish city’s twinning agreement with Tel Aviv.

The letter was prompted by reports that the Barcelona City Council was on the verge of approving a resolution backed by BDS activists that would end longstanding relations between the Catalonian capital and Israel’s commercial and cultural center.

“On behalf of the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), a global coalition engaging more than 650 partner organizations and nearly two million people in the fight against all forms of modern-day Jew-hatred, I am writing to express our deep concern regarding the campaign to sever the twin city alliance between Barcelona and Tel Aviv,” the letter said.

“Barcelona and Tel Aviv are both international cities widely recognized for their thriving high-tech, start-up, and tourism sectors,” it continued. “They share similar values of inclusivity and mutual respect, which is reflected in the diversity of their resident communities.”

“We urge you to reject pressure to cut Barcelona’s ties with Tel Aviv, as this would be detrimental to the principles of understanding and cooperation,” Roytman Dratwa implored. “True peace is built through discourse and engagement, not boycotts and isolation, and shunning relations with Tel Aviv would only bolster the rejectionists who oppose a mutually-agreed upon resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

“The twin city agreement between Barcelona and Tel Aviv promotes tolerance and harmony across nationalities and faiths, and this is something that must be defended and promoted, rather than undermined and destroyed,” the letter concluded.