Green Party members have adopted a motion declaring Zionism a form of racism, in a move that has divided senior figures at the top of the party. The party’s joint deputy leaders have been at odds over the subject, with Mothin Ali backing the move, and Rachel Millward describing the wording as “problematic”. Activists endorsed the policy motion, which was put forward by a group of members at the party’s conference in Brighton, by 1022 votes to 813. Discussion about the vote has dominated the conference, and exposed divisions between the party’s newly enlarged membership base under leader Zack Polanski and its MPs elected at the last election.
The motion adopted by Green members defines Zionism as an ideology in support of “an ethnonationalist Jewish state” and backs a “single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine”. “The real, material, manifestation of Zionism has been the historic and ongoing dehumanisation, displacement, dispossession, disenfranchisement and destruction of Palestinians,” it says. It has attracted criticism from some Jewish groups, including the Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council who wrote a letter to the party ahead of the vote. In a statement on Sunday evening, the organisations called the motion an “attack on the Jewish community”.
“Zionism is anti-racism, creating a refuge for Jews in their ancient homeland after millennia of persecution outside it,” it said. “Branding most British Jews and Jewish institutions ‘racist’ stokes anti-Jewish hatred after a year in which British Jews have been murdered attending their synagogue, stabbed in the streets, and seen their community buildings firebombed.” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the motion went beyond “the boundaries of legitimate political debate” and was “a stain on the history of the United Kingdom”. Later on Sunday, it said Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar had banned Polanski from entering Israel in response. Debate about the motion, as well as the conflict in Gaza, has featured heavily during the conference, which is taking place after a surge in its membership in the wake of Polanski’s election as leader in September last year.
Speaking after the vote, Lubna Speitan, the Green member behind the motion, argued its backers wanted to voice opposition to “racist systems of oppression”. “We stand united against all forms of racism and discrimination – no exemptions,” she added. Polanski himself did not vote in the debate, having left the conference early to campaign in Holborn and St Pancras, where he is standing to be the MP. A full list of candidates in the contest can be found here.
Greens can move Labour in the right direction, says Polanski UK announces sanctions on West Bank settlements prompting furious Israeli response Asked about the motion on Friday, Polanski said: “If your Zionism is the displacement of the Palestinian people then that is clearly racist, and I say that as a Jewish leader of a British political party.” However, he said he wanted to see the reference to a single Palestinian state changed, arguing: “I don’t believe we as a Green Party of England and Wales, or even the British government, should be deciding what the future settlement looks like.” He had also said he wanted to see the motion amended to specify that it should not be used to discipline Jewish members attending synagogues that consider themselves Zionist. However, both amendments favoured by Polanski were rejected by Green members. The Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council statement referred to a “particular criticism” for Polanski “who neither spoke against the motion nor voted” but welcomed the subsequent “cross-party condemnation”. A Green spokeswoman insisted the party would protect Jewish members – and they would not be persecuted for attending synagogues which defined themselves as Zionist.
Speaking after the motion had been approved, chair of Jewish Greens Vivien Lichtenstein told the BBC she could consider her future in the party. Polanski has not specified whether he supports the motion passed by members, but added his name to a joint statement from the party’s five MPs and deputy leaders issued after the vote. The statement pledged to ensure the Green Party was “an anti-racist party in every way” and added that there was “no conflict between supporting the rights of Palestinians and the rights of Jewish people”. Over the course of the three-day conference, key figures in the party have expressed differing positions about the Zionism motion.
Four of the party’s five MPs – Ellie Chowns, Adrian Ramsay and Carla Denyer, Sian Berry – had publicly opposed it, with Denyer arguing it could risk “alienating a significant proportion of Jewish people”. Chowns, as well as former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas, both spoke against the motion during the debate. Addressing members, Lucas said: “I urge you not to support the over-simplification at the heart of this motion – a refusal to accept complexities which is leading to so many Jewish members feeling scared and unwelcome in our party.” Deputy leader Mothin Ali, who had expressed support for the motion before the vote, said it was calling for “a state that’s democratic, that guarantees the rights of every single person living on that land”. He added that he was “absolutely not” calling all Jewish people who define themselves as Zionists racist.
Under Green Party rules, motions supported by members become official party policy, but will not necessarily be included in the party’s manifesto at the next general election. The Conservatives criticised the motion, saying it demonstrated the Green Party was “toxic to its core”. Labour chair Bridget Phillipson said the vote “crosses a line” and called on Polanski to “make clear that this will not be their position moving forwards”. “It is shameful to vote against a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine and to condemn the vast majority of British Jews and Jews around the world as racist for supporting Israel’s right to exist,” she added.
Liberal Democrat MP Luke Taylor said the motion did not address “the rising threats” of Islamophobia and antisemitism in the UK. He added: “This is a divisive motion that pours fuel on the fire of tensions in the UK, and will leave many British Jews feeling less safe.”
