The northern Polish city of Sopot has voted to end its sister city relationship with Ashkelon, citing Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and describing the war as a “genocide.”
The move, which terminates a 32-year partnership between the popular Baltic Sea resort and the southern Israeli city, was brought forward by Barbara Brzezicka, a municipal councilor from the left-wing Together (Razem) party.
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Sopot, Poland (left) and Ashkelon Israel no longer 'tween-cities'
(Photo: Shutterstock, Assaf Kamar)
According to Ashkelon's municipal website, Sopot is one of 11 cities with which it has established sister-city ties, aimed at promoting cultural, social, economic, tourism and business cooperation.
The resolution was backed by Amnesty International and local pro-Palestinian activists, who gathered more than 300 signatures in support of the initiative.
City officials described the measure as a symbolic step. The resolution stated that cutting ties with Ashkelon would be “a strong political gesture, demonstrating that the slogan ‘Sopot, a city of human rights’ is not an empty one.”
The resolution also said that “Israel has been carrying out full-scale ethnic cleansing in Gaza since 2023, which has already claimed tens of thousands of victims, including approximately 20,000 children. The crimes committed by Hamas do not constitute any justification for the systematic extermination of the civilian population in Gaza. Hamas bears full responsibility for its attacks, and the government of Israel bears full responsibility for the genocide carried out by the Israel Defense Forces."
The vote passed with nine council members in favor, six opposed, four abstentions, and two absent. Among those to oppose the resolution was councillor Jarosław Kempa, who argued that “the appropriate step in this situation would be to suspend cooperation or send a letter to the Ashkelon authorities stating that we do not agree with what is happening in Gaza”. But "if we break off this cooperation permanently, we will cut off any possibility of even talking to that side,” he added,
Another opponent, Natalia Pobłocka, called the resolution one-sided, failing to address “the full context of what is currently happening in Gaza and in Israeli-Palestinian relations."
This marks the first time a local authority in Poland has completely cut ties with an Israeli city over the situation in Gaza.
In September, the city council of Tczew voted unanimously to suspend relations with Lev Hasharon in Israel, emphasizing it was an expression of Tczew’s solidarity with the victims of violence and an appeal to seek peaceful solutions to the dispute."
At the national level, last month, the far-right Confederation (Konfederacja) party submitted a resolution to Poland’s national parliament condemning Israel’s “genocidal actions” in Gaza, as well as the “criminal terrorist attacks by Hamas." The Left (Lewica) previously submitted a similar resolution. However, neither has yet come up for a vote. (Credit: Notes from Poland)
Foreign minister Radosław Sikorski has previously accused Israel of using “excessive force” and urged it to “respect international humanitarian law”.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed support for Israel's fight against Islamic terrorism, but added that Poland would “never be on the side of politicians whose actions lead to hunger and the death of mothers and children."