Nurses’ Haifa Training at Risk as Council Reviews Twinning, Hackney 2026

Key Points

• Hackney Council has voted in principle to begin ending its 58-year twinning relationship with Haifa, Israel.
• The decision does not immediately terminate the civic agreement; a consultation, equality impact assessment, legal review and further council consideration are required.
• The Hackney–Haifa partnership has supported medical exchanges between Homerton Hospital and Rambam Medical Centre.
• About 80 nurses from Hackney are understood to have taken part in the exchange programme over several decades.
• The medical scheme allowed nurses to observe practices at Rambam, particularly in emergency and trauma care.
• The exchanges were separate from the council’s formal twinning arrangements, although they developed through the wider civic relationship.
• The programme has been dormant since the Covid-19 pandemic and has not yet restarted.
• Hackney’s Green administration says the relationship no longer reflects its commitments to human rights, international law and solidarity with Palestinians.
• Labour and Conservative councillors opposed the proposal, arguing that it could damage practical community links and increase tensions.
• Mayor Zoë Garbett apologised after initially asking Haifa to respond by 7 October, a date associated with the anniversary of the Hamas attacks in Israel.
• The deadline was later extended to 14 October 2026.
• Interested parties are expected to submit their views before the council makes a final decision.

Hackney (East London Times) August 7, 2026 – A long-running medical exchange that enabled nurses from Homerton Hospital to train at Rambam Medical Centre in Haifa could face an uncertain future after Hackney Council voted to begin ending its formal twinning relationship with the Israeli city.

The council’s decision on 28 July was not an immediate cancellation of the relationship. Instead, councillors agreed in principle to terminate the 1968 agreement, subject to public engagement, a full equality impact assessment, legal consideration and a further decision by the council. The process is expected to continue over the coming months, with interested parties invited to submit representations by 14 October.

The medical exchange is separate from the council’s administrative twinning agreement. However, the two relationships have historically been connected, and the medical partnership developed as one of the most practical elements of the wider civic link. The Jewish Chronicle reported that approximately 80 nurses from the north London hospital had taken part in the scheme across several decades.

What happened to the Hackney–Haifa twinning agreement?

Hackney and Haifa entered into their formal civic partnership in September 1968. The arrangement was signed by Stanley Clinton Davis, then Mayor of Hackney, and Abba Hushi, who was serving as Haifa’s mayor.

According to the Hackney Citizen, the original purpose of the relationship was to encourage friendly contact and exchanges between ordinary residents of the two cities. The partnership was established during a period when traditional twinning arrangements were used to develop cultural, educational and civic links between communities in different countries.

Over time, the relationship moved beyond ceremonial visits. Medical cooperation became one of its most significant areas of activity, involving Homerton Hospital in Hackney and Rambam Medical Centre in Haifa.

Hackney’s Green-led administration has argued that the relationship no longer reflects the council’s stated priorities. Councillor Sam Mathys, the cabinet member responsible for twinning relationships, said the council’s institutional links should be consistent with its commitments to human rights, international law, justice and international solidarity.

The Green Party had included a pledge to end the Haifa twinning arrangement in its election manifesto. The party secured control of Hackney Council after the May local elections and holds 42 of the authority’s 57 seats, according to the Hackney Citizen.

The council’s decision therefore fulfilled a pre-election commitment, although the formal termination has not yet taken place.

How did the nursing exchange work?

The exchange programme involved staff from Homerton Hospital travelling to Rambam Medical Centre and medical professionals from Haifa visiting Hackney.

The Jewish Chronicle reported that formal week-long exchanges began during the 1980s. The programme allowed London nurses to observe Israeli medical practices, with particular attention given to Rambam’s accident and emergency department. The knowledge gained during visits could then be shared with colleagues in the NHS.

The publication reported that Rambam hosted 10 separate exchanges, with groups of about eight nurses taking part. The trips were free for participants and were subsidised by the British Friends of Rambam charity.

The exchanges were intended to be educational rather than simply social. Nurses and medical staff shadowed colleagues in the partner hospital, attended lectures and discussed methods used in different healthcare settings.

Martin Sugarman, chairman of the Hackney Anglo-Israel Friendship Association, told the Jewish Chronicle that the programme was developed to make the twinning relationship more practical and focused on learning. He said Homerton staff had reported useful experiences in trauma care, including treatment connected with gun and knife injuries that were less commonly encountered in the United Kingdom.

The exchanges also gave Rambam staff an opportunity to learn about caring for patients from Hackney’s diverse communities. Sugarman said discussions had included the treatment of Orthodox Jewish patients in Hackney, while staff from both hospitals shared professional experiences with visiting colleagues.

The partnership was not limited to travel. Returning groups were reported to have delivered presentations to invited audiences and hospital staff in both Hackney and Haifa.

Could the council’s decision stop future training?

There is no confirmed decision to cancel the nursing programme because the exchange was separate from the council’s formal twinning agreement.

However, concerns have been raised about the effect of ending the civic relationship on any future cooperation. The programme has already been inactive since the Covid-19 pandemic, and there are currently no confirmed plans for it to restart.

The Hackney Citizen reported that the last known civic event connected with the medical relationship was a reception for visiting Rambam nurses in October 2019. The same publication said the hospital exchange had remained dormant since the pandemic.

This means the council’s vote does not immediately remove an active training opportunity from Homerton nurses. Nevertheless, ending the twinning agreement could make the revival of the exchange more difficult if charities, hospitals or civic organisations later seek to restore it.

The future of the programme could depend on whether Homerton Hospital, Rambam Medical Centre and organisations such as the British Friends of Rambam decide to maintain contact independently. The hospital relationship may also require separate administrative, legal and professional approvals regardless of the council’s decision.

At present, the available information does not confirm that any scheduled nurse exchanges have been cancelled. It shows that the programme had paused before the council’s vote and had not yet restarted.

Why does Hackney want to end the relationship?

Hackney’s Green administration has linked the proposed termination to the war in Gaza and its wider position on Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.

The council’s report said the existing relationship did not reflect its current priorities. Green councillors argued that maintaining an official civic partnership with Haifa was inconsistent with the council’s stated support for human rights and international law.

Councillor Manal Massalha, speaking during the debate, referred to the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the West Bank. She said the council should use its institutional relationships to express solidarity with Palestinians.

Councillor Florence Schechter also supported the move, presenting her position as being informed by her Jewish values. She said the actions of the Israeli state should not be treated as representative of Jewish people generally.

The council’s debate included references to the International Court of Justice. The Hackney Citizen clarified that the court’s January 2024 order found that Palestinians had plausible rights to protection under the Genocide Convention, while the court had not ruled that genocide had occurred. The wider case remains ongoing.

The council’s report also proposes reviewing all five of Hackney’s twinning relationships. A six-member cross-party working group, chaired by Councillor Mathys, is expected to examine the authority’s broader policy on international partnerships.

Why have Labour and Conservative councillors opposed the proposal?

Opposition came from both Labour and Conservative councillors, although their arguments focused on different aspects of the decision.

Councillor Simche Steinberger, a Conservative member, criticised the administration for moving towards termination before completing an equality impact assessment and wider review. He argued that the Haifa link was the only twinning relationship producing clear practical benefits, particularly through medical cooperation.

Steinberger also said that Haifa was among Israel’s more politically liberal cities and that the council’s decision risked ending a connection involving people from different religious and ethnic backgrounds.

Labour councillor Ben Lucas said his party opposed the proposal while condemning both the Israeli government’s conduct in Gaza and the Hamas attacks in Israel. He argued that ending a civic relationship would punish local people for the actions of a national government.

Lucas described the move as a symbolic gesture that could inflame tensions in Hackney. He said the purpose of twinning was to build contacts between communities and called for the council to act as a bridge builder.

Labour group leader Anntoinette Bramble also questioned whether the process could be described as an open review when the council had already agreed in principle to terminate the relationship.

The council responded that placing the proposal on the agenda was necessary to begin public scrutiny and consultation. Its working group is expected to include representatives from different political parties.

Why did the mayor apologise over the 7 October deadline?

Mayor Zoë Garbett wrote to Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav after the council vote to notify him of the proposed termination and invite Haifa’s views.

The original letter asked Haifa to respond by 7 October 2026. The date drew criticism because it marks the anniversary of the Hamas-led attacks in Israel in 2023.

Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, described the choice of date as insensitive, according to reports cited by the Hackney Citizen. Martin Sugarman also criticised the deadline and called for the mayor to resign if the date had been chosen deliberately.

Garbett later issued a second letter apologising for what she called a serious mistake. She said the significance of 7 October had been overlooked and accepted responsibility for the correspondence issued in her name.

The council subsequently changed the deadline to 14 October. A council spokesperson said the consultation period had originally been set at 10 weeks and that the closing date was altered once the error was identified.

The mayor’s follow-up letter said officers had attempted to avoid the Jewish holidays in September but had failed to recognise the importance of 7 October itself.

What happens next in the process?

Residents and other interested parties are expected to submit their views through the council’s consultation system. The process will also include a full equality impact assessment and legal review.

The council’s legal advice recommends giving Haifa at least three months’ notice because the agreement has existed for almost six decades. A cross-party working group will review the proposal and Hackney’s other twinning arrangements before reporting back to the full council.

The Hackney Citizen reported that the working group is expected to report in January 2027, with 28 January identified as the next scheduled full council meeting after the November meeting.

A final decision will therefore be required before the relationship can be formally ended. Until that decision is made, Hackney and Haifa remain linked under the existing agreement.

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What is the background to the medical partnership?

The Homerton–Rambam relationship developed from the 1968 civic partnership between Hackney and Haifa. British Friends of Rambam representatives told the Jewish Chronicle that the medical link was supported by contacts between members of Hackney’s Jewish community and Rambam Hospital.

Rambam was historically associated with the British government during the British Mandate, and the hospital’s early history was linked to a monastery in Haifa, according to Anita Alexander-Passe, director of British Friends of Rambam Medical Centre.

The exchange later became more structured, with hospital staff travelling in groups, observing clinical practice and delivering lectures. About 80 nurses from Hackney are reported to have participated over the years.

The programme was paused during the Covid-19 pandemic and has remained inactive. The council’s decision has raised questions about whether the medical relationship could be revived separately from the civic agreement, but no final decision on that point has been announced.

How could this affect Hackney nurses and local communities?

In the short term, the vote is unlikely to change nurses’ existing duties because there is no evidence of a current exchange taking place. The main immediate effect is that any future Homerton–Rambam programme could require new arrangements outside the council’s formal twinning framework.

If the civic link is formally terminated, organisations supporting the exchange may need to operate independently from the council or establish a new form of professional cooperation. That could affect funding, official invitations, travel arrangements and the ability of hospitals to present the partnership as part of a recognised municipal relationship.

The development could also deepen disagreement among Hackney residents. Supporters of the Green administration may view the decision as a response to international human rights concerns, while opponents may see it as the loss of a practical medical and community connection.