British Green Party leader Zack Polanski remains under pressure after his party approved a motion declaring that “Zionism is racism” and calling for the establishment of “a single democratic Palestinian state across historic Palestine”.
The motion was passed at the Green Party’s annual conference in Brighton on 4 October by 1,022 votes to 813. It formally defines the Green Party as an anti-Zionist party and states that Zionism should be “treated as any other form of racism”. It also backs “a single democratic Palestinian State in all of historic Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital”.
As the party marked the third anniversary of the 7 October Hamas attacks, Polanski did not take part in the vote, having left the conference to campaign in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.
The motion was proposed by Lubna Speitan, a British-Palestinian Green Party member and activist. It was supported by co-deputy leader Mothin Ali, while several senior Green politicians and most of the party’s MPs opposed the motion or expressed serious reservations about its wording.
In his response to the controversy, Polanski said that antisemitism and criticism of the Israeli state “must always be completely distinct”, while also reiterating his support for Palestinian rights and criticising the Israeli government’s conduct in Gaza. However, the motion is effectively calling for the abolishment of Israel.
The policy has been described as a major departure from the position of the wider European Green movement. The European Green Party has expressed concern that the British Greens’ position conflicts with its support for a two-state solution and with the right of Israelis and Palestinians to self-determination.
Polanski himself is Jewish and has previously described himself as anti-Zionist. In September, during campaigning in Holborn and St Pancras, he publicly stated that he identified as an anti-Zionist.
The motion came days before the anniversary of the 7 October 2023 attacks by Hamas against Israel. On October 7th, when Hamas slaughtered up to 1400 Israelis, Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh went on record declaring that Hamas will be expelling the Jews from “their sacred land”.
The Green Party’s latest policy has since triggered criticism from Jewish organisations and political figures, while the head of the party’s Jewish Greens group, Vivien Lichtenstein, has said she may leave the party over the decision.
Newsroom
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