Town twinning has a boring image. People tend to be rather derisive about it: ‘gesture politics’, ‘junkets to distant locations for mayors and municipal officials keen to travel. In other words: irrelevant, ineffective and corny. It therefore came as quite a surprise when, early in 2015, Amsterdam's plans to twin with Tel Aviv and Ramallah caused a real stir. Clearly the concept had some relevance after all.

Amsterdam, Tel Aviv and Ramallah: a ménage à trois?

After the local elections in March 2014, the Amsterdam city council decided to review the city's international policy, resulting in the ratification of the ‘Amsterdam International Responsible Capital City 2014-2018’ policy document. In addition, at the instigation of the liberal party Democrats 66 in the city council, plans were made to explore the possibility of a partnership with the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. However, the idea had to be put on hold in the summer of 2014 due to the hostilities in Gaza. In January 2015, talks resumed, but at the request of left-wing party GroenLinks, the Municipal Executive wished to explore the possibility of a partnership with a Palestinian city as well. The choice fell on Ramallah, the de facto capital of the Palestinian National Authority.

The relationship between these cities, and the states of which they form part – or, more precisely, the question of whether twinning with these cities would legitimise them and their politics or could in fact be a way to promote alternatives – was the central issue in the political and societal debate that ensued about Amsterdam's town twinning plans. In the motion presented to the City Council, the Municipal Executive emphasised the benefits for the cities involved. They could learn from each other about tolerance and dialogue (the Arab and Jewish communities in Tel Aviv, and the Muslim and Christian communities in Ramallah serving as examples for Amsterdam), city marketing and branding (with Amsterdam being the one to serve as an example for the other two), economic growth (Amsterdam has much to learn from Tel Aviv – which is second only to Silicon Valley as the start-up capital of the world – and could invest in Ramallah's potential, with its highly educated population) and urban planning (Ramallah needed Amsterdam's expertise).