BOULDER, Colo.—Officials have rejected a proposal to name Nablus, a town on the West Bank, as Boulder’s eighth sister city after opponents said it would be an inappropriate partnership due to human rights issues under the Palestinian Authority.
The Boulder City Council voted 6-3 on Monday against the proposal but some members encouraged both sides to find common ground.
“I am uncomfortable that our community is so up in arms over this and so conflicted. I would encourage the Nablus group to reach out,” Councilwoman Suzy Ageton said.
Organizers of the Boulder-Nablus Sister City Project worked for two years on the proposal, saying it could bridge cultures and make residents informal diplomats.
Opponents said the organizers have political motives and that approving Nablus as a sister city would be choosing a side in the long-running Middle East dispute, the Boulder Daily Camera ( ) reported.
“It is dividing our Boulder community, rather than uniting us to work for peace,” said Beth Ornstein, an opponent of the proposal.
Others said Nablus doesn’t share Boulder’s values, pointing to honor killings of women by relatives over their dress or behavior, discrimination against lesbian and gay residents, and alleged support of terrorist acts.
“The culture is one of intolerance, hate and violence,” said Mimi Ito of Boulder.
Essrea Cherin, president of the board of the sister-city project, said residents of Boulder were missing a chance to experience a unique culture.
Sara Fitouri, who taught in a classroom in Nablus, said opponents were casting an entire city as terrorists. Instead, she said, the students she taught have the same hopes and dreams as students in Boulder.
Boulder already has seven sister cities, including Dushanbe, Tajikistan; Jalapa, Nicaragua; Kisumu, Kenya; Lhasa, Tibet; Mante, Mexico; Yamagata, Japan; and Yateras, Cuba.
