Dagur B. Eggertsson, the mayor of Reykjavík, told the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service RÚV he felt it was important to admit that the decision of the city council to direct city agencies to boycott all goods manufactured in Israel had undermined public trust in City Hall. Going forward the city and the majority coalition would work hard to regain any trust which was lost.
Read more: Breaking: Reykjavík backs down on Israeli boycott
The boycott decision damaged the reputation of the city
Dagur told RÚV he believed the motion had been put forward with good intentions, but the manner in which it was prepared and approved had damaged the city‘s reputation.
“I think the motion was put forward with good intentions, to stress the city‘s strong emphasis on the support of human rights. However, the way in which we did this actually damaged that cause and City Hall, and I think we just have to face that fact. Going forward I think it is very important we do things better and by doing that we can hopefully regain some of the trust.”
Boycott motion approved as a good bye present to departing councilwoman?
The majority coalition in City Hall has been criticized for having approved the boycott as kind of good bye present to Councilwoman Björk Vilhelmsdóttir who is resigning from the City Council and leaving politics. Björk is a long-time supporter of Palestine, and is married to Sveinn Rúnar Hauksson, one of the leaders of the Iceland-Palestine Association. Dagur denied there was such a tradition in City Council, and argued it was crucial departing councilmembers could not have poorly prepared pet issues approved by the council.
No boycott in place, decision to be withdrawn, no new action planned
A special city council meeting has been called for Tuesday to discuss a proposal to withdraw the decision made on September 15 2015 to prepare a boycott by the City of all goods manufactured in Israel. Identical motions have been put forward by both the majority coalition and the minority.
While the city intends to withdraw its decision to boycott Israeli goods, no motion has been put forward to introduce a more narrowly focused boycott of goods manufactured in the occupied territories. The cities of Copenhagen and Aarhus in Denmark have earlier this summer instituted such boycotts.
Dagur B. Eggertsson, has previously stated that this was the original intention of the boycott, and indicated that such a motion would be introduced after the boycott of goods made in Israel had been reversed. When asked by RÚV on Monday morning, whether such a motion would be put forward he declined to comment.
Dagur B. Eggertsson, the mayor of Reykjavík, told the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service RÚV he felt it was important to admit that the decision of the city council to direct city agencies to boycott all goods manufactured in Israel had undermined public trust in City Hall. Going forward the city and the majority coalition would work hard to regain any trust which was lost.
Read more: Breaking: Reykjavík backs down on Israeli boycott
The boycott decision damaged the reputation of the city
Dagur told RÚV he believed the motion had been put forward with good intentions, but the manner in which it was prepared and approved had damaged the city‘s reputation.
“I think the motion was put forward with good intentions, to stress the city‘s strong emphasis on the support of human rights. However, the way in which we did this actually damaged that cause and City Hall, and I think we just have to face that fact. Going forward I think it is very important we do things better and by doing that we can hopefully regain some of the trust.”
Boycott motion approved as a good bye present to departing councilwoman?
The majority coalition in City Hall has been criticized for having approved the boycott as kind of good bye present to Councilwoman Björk Vilhelmsdóttir who is resigning from the City Council and leaving politics. Björk is a long-time supporter of Palestine, and is married to Sveinn Rúnar Hauksson, one of the leaders of the Iceland-Palestine Association. Dagur denied there was such a tradition in City Council, and argued it was crucial departing councilmembers could not have poorly prepared pet issues approved by the council.
No boycott in place, decision to be withdrawn, no new action planned
A special city council meeting has been called for Tuesday to discuss a proposal to withdraw the decision made on September 15 2015 to prepare a boycott by the City of all goods manufactured in Israel. Identical motions have been put forward by both the majority coalition and the minority.
While the city intends to withdraw its decision to boycott Israeli goods, no motion has been put forward to introduce a more narrowly focused boycott of goods manufactured in the occupied territories. The cities of Copenhagen and Aarhus in Denmark have earlier this summer instituted such boycotts.
Dagur B. Eggertsson, has previously stated that this was the original intention of the boycott, and indicated that such a motion would be introduced after the boycott of goods made in Israel had been reversed. When asked by RÚV on Monday morning, whether such a motion would be put forward he declined to comment.
