Green Party Adopts Controversial Motion Declaring Zionism a Form of Racism

Green Party members have voted to adopt a policy motion that brands Zionism a form of racism, a decision that has laid bare deep divisions among the party's most senior figures and sparked a fierce backlash from Jewish organisations and the Israeli government.

The motion, brought forward by a group of party members at the Green Party conference in Brighton, was approved by a margin of 1022 votes to 813. It defines Zionism as an ideology supporting what it calls "an ethnonationalist Jewish state" and expresses support for "a single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine."

The text of the motion asserts that the "real, material, manifestation of Zionism has been the historic and ongoing dehumanisation, displacement, dispossession, disenfranchisement and destruction of Palestinians." The wording has proven highly contentious, drawing condemnation from several Jewish groups and prompting a diplomatic response from Israel.

The vote followed an intense debate that had dominated the three-day conference and highlighted tensions between the party's rapidly expanding membership base under leader Zack Polanski and its sitting MPs, who were elected at the last general election.

The party's joint deputy leaders took opposing positions on the issue. Mothin Ali backed the motion, while Rachel Millward described its wording as "problematic."

Jewish groups, including the Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council, had written to the party ahead of the vote to express their concerns. In a statement on Sunday evening, they characterised the motion as 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," the statement said. The organisations further warned that "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 also weighed in, stating that the motion went beyond "the boundaries of legitimate political debate" and amounted to "a stain on the history of the United Kingdom." Later on Sunday, the ministry announced that Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar had barred Polanski from entering Israel in response to the vote.

Speaking after the result was declared, Lubna Speitan, the Green member who put the motion forward, defended its intent. She argued that its supporters wanted to express opposition to "racist systems of oppression." She added: "We stand united against all forms of racism and discrimination - no exemptions."

Polanski himself did not participate in the vote, having left the conference early to campaign in Holborn and St Pancras, where he is seeking election as an MP. Asked about the motion on Friday, he had 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, the Green leader had also expressed reservations about specific elements of the motion. He said he wanted to see the reference to a single Palestinian state altered, 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 sought an amendment to clarify that the motion should not be used to discipline Jewish members who attend synagogues that consider themselves Zionist. Both amendments favoured by Polanski were rejected by members.

The Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council singled out Polanski for "particular criticism," noting that he "neither spoke against the motion nor voted." They did, however, welcome the subsequent "cross-party condemnation" of the motion.

A Green spokeswoman insisted the party would protect its Jewish members and that they would not face persecution for attending synagogues that define themselves as Zionist. Nonetheless, Vivien Lichtenstein, chair of Jewish Greens, told the BBC after the motion was approved that she could consider her future in the party.

Polanski has not specified whether he personally supports the motion, but he added his name to a joint statement issued after the vote by the party's five MPs and its deputy leaders. The statement pledged to ensure the Green Party was "an anti-racist party in every way" and stated there was "no conflict between supporting the rights of Palestinians and the rights of Jewish people."

Four of the party's five MPs had publicly opposed the motion before the vote, with Carla Denyer arguing it could risk "alienating a significant proportion of Jewish people." Ellie Chowns and former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas both spoke against it during the debate. Lucas urged members: "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 voiced support for the motion before the vote, said it was calling for "a state that's democratic, that guarantee" - a reference to the motion's backing for a single democratic Palestinian state.

The debate over the motion, alongside discussion of the conflict in Gaza, featured prominently throughout the conference. The gathering took place following a significant surge in Green Party membership after Polanski's election as leader in September last year, a shift that has reshaped the party's internal dynamics and exposed fault lines between its newer activist base and its parliamentary representatives. Some pro-Israel activists demonstrated outside the conference venue on Saturday, waving Israeli flags alongside a Union Jack.