Dundee Council says no to Nablus street name

A PROPOSAL to change the name of a street in Dundee in honour of a Palestinian town, famous for harbouring terrorism, has been rejected by the City Council. The Dundee University Action Palestine Society was behind the proposals to rename Cross Rowe, on Dundee University's campus, to Nablus Place. However, DUAPS president Pádraig Durnin said he was still confident that a different street would be renamed.        Nablus, located in the West Bank, was the scene of the murder of Israelis Ruth and Udi Fogel, along with their three young children in 2011. The reason for the proposal dates back to a twinning agreement between Dundee and Nablus that spans back to 1980. Mr Durnin said: "It is very important to mark the historical link between the cities. "We need to show solidarity with our friends in Nablus. I can understand why external voices would be unhappy, but they should come to Dundee and see the support Dundonians have for Nablus". Mr Durnin added: "I invite organisations such as the Scottish Friends of Israel to come to Dundee and speak to the locals. "I have not had a single complaint from a Jewish resident of Dundee." Mr Durnin - who considers Hamas "to be the legitimate voice of Palestinians" - said: "The people of Nablus did not vote for Israel soldiers to parade the streets of their homes."         Scottish Friends of Israel Secretary Stanley Grossman labelled the plans to rename Cross Rowe a "disgrace". He said: "Dundee is bidding to earn the UK City of Culture title in 2017. How could they claim to be a place of culture while supporting terrorism?" One of the key voices behind the decision to abandon the street renaming was Mike Galloway, director of City Development for Dundee. "The objections were valid and received within the consultation period," he said. Mr Grossman told the Jewish Telegraph that the Jewish community in Dundee was small, but there was a "vocal anti-Israel voice in the Dundee        and Aberdeen areas". Complicating matters was the insistence by DUAPS that Dundee's links with other twinned cities such as Orléans, France, and Wurtzburg, Germany, are marked with similar gestures. Dundee Nablus Twinning Association had previously stated their support for the proposal by saying it would be "consistent with the precedent set by the council when it named Orleans Place and Wurtzburg Court" and "would be an appropriate way to recognise more than 32 years of twinning". Dundee University said the matter was "for the society to deal with" and not something they were involved in.