South Africa’s capital city, Pretoria has became the first South African city to twin with a Palestinian town, the town of Bethlehem. Twinning between the two city’s will allow a collaboration to encourage unity and support through the transfers of skills and general interaction.

BDS SA Spokesperson, Kwara Kekana says the City of Johannesburg twinned with the Palestinian City of Ramallah and has also been celebrating a Palestine Solidarity week since the 17th March 2015, to pledge solidarity and practical action for Palestine. BDS South Africa now calls on the City of Cape Town to follow suit and twin with another Palestinian city.

“We are calling on the cities of South Africa to join BDS movement, as there should be concrete actions of solidarity for the people of Palestine. A city of Palestine can be chosen where we can import and transfer skills. The twinning speaks to questions of government practises,” Kekana said.

The twinning, according to Kekana allows the cities to learn from each other and the transfer and understanding of cultural practices.

“The fundamental problem that you have with South African government or cities that has a twinning agreement with an apartheid state means that there is a transferral or information, culture and skills,” she added.

Kekana said active citizens are the main custodians of the constitution in South Africa. Kekana further encouraged residents of Cape Town to send an email to the Mayor of Cape Town, Patricia De Lille to draw Johannesburg as an example and twin with a Palestinian city. VOC (Ra’eesah Isaacs)