After a long night of testimony and debate, the Boulder City Council rejected making the West Bank town of Nablus its eighth sister city by a vote of 7 to 2. Despite the attempt by the proponents of the sister city project to characterize the effort as a way to engage in person-to-person relationships with the people of Nablus, the City Council recognized the political motivation of supporters to change the prevailing narrative in the Israel-Palestinian situation that the proponents believe favors Israel.

Anti-Defamation League Mountain States Regional Director Scott Levin and several members of the ADL Boulder Steering Committee, led by ADL Board member Bill Cohen, spoke in opposition to the proposal. They pointed out that it would be inappropriate for Boulder to enter into a sister city relationship at this time. In addition, it was pointed out that notwithstanding the good intentions of many proponents of the project, several proponents had used it as an excuse to express anti-Semitic and virulently anti-Israel sentiments.