This letter to Jaime Cannici, editor, Teaneck Suburbanite appears in the editorial section of the current issue.
To the Editor:
It was brought to my attention that Teaneck has a “twin town” relationship with Orthodox Jewish West Bank settlement Beit Yatir. I checked and found that the relationship is indicated on numerous web-sites.
I wrote to Mayor Hameeduddin to ask whether or not the town had approved this relationship, and to ask that appropriate actions be taken, to either nullify a previously approved relationship, or to produce a statement about a non-approved one. The mayor did not respond to my communication.
I then sent certified letters to the mayor and town council. Council-member Katz responded and together we ascertained that the town never approved this relationship. Logical conclusion: An individual or group of individuals have unilaterally declared this relationship into existence without going through proper channels.
So I spoke at the recent council meeting, presenting two arguments: 1) No one should have the right to make a unilateral decision on behalf of the entire town, and 2) Because West Bank settlements violate international law, and because the Obama administration has taken the position that it opposes Israeli settlement activity, we should not allow our town to appear to be in a relationship that supports this activity.
The mayor was dismissive with me. He indicated that because the relationship does not exist, no action needs to be taken. I feel this is irresponsible. It should be a no-brainer: a mayoral statement indicating that the relationship does not exist, to present to the local Beit Yatir government and to the various web-sites that indicate that relationship as extant.
I write in order to present this situation to Teaneck’s citizens, who are of varied race, religion, and ethnic background: Do we allow an individual or group of individuals from the Orthodox Jewish community to unilaterally decide that our town has a twin town relationship with an entity which exists in violation of international law? If your answer is no, as mine is, then please communicate your concern to our town government.
Rich Siegel
Teaneck
