Greens adopt 'Zionism is racism' motion as leader skips vote
Party members in Brighton voted 1,022 to 813 to declare the Greens an anti-Zionist party, exposing a split at the top as Zack Polanski campaigns in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.
Green Party members have adopted a motion declaring Zionism a form of racism at the party's annual conference in Brighton, in a vote that has divided senior figures at the top of the party. The motion was passed by 1,022 votes to 813 on Sunday.
The motion, put forward by a group of members, declares the Greens to be an "anti-Zionist party" and sets into policy that Zionism will be "treated as any other form of racism". It defines Zionism as an ideology in support of "an ethnonationalist Jewish state" and commits the party to supporting a "single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine".
Members also rejected an amendment that had been backed by the party leader, Zack Polanski, who said he wanted it "because what I want to see is equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians". Separately, members voted against adding a clause to make clear the motion should not be used to "pressure, proscribe or discipline" party members for their affiliation to synagogues or other Jewish groups that describe themselves as Zionist.
Nobody will be removed, challenged, disciplined, suspended because they put forward or articulate their belief in Zionism.Salma Yaqoob, former councillor
Mr Polanski did not take part in the vote, having left the party conference after his speech on Friday to campaign in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election. In a statement with Green MPs and his deputies, he said there is "no conflict between supporting the rights of Palestinians and the rights of Jewish people".
The party's two deputy leaders were at odds over the subject. Mothin Ali backed the motion, while Rachel Millward described its wording as "problematic".
Supporters chanted "say it loud, say it clear, Zionists are not welcome here" as the campaigners behind the motion, Greens for Palestine, gathered to speak to the media. Asked if the new stance meant Zionists would be kicked out of the party, former councillor Salma Yaqoob said "absolutely not". "We're saying that if you want to champion Zionism, it will be called out as racism," she said. "But, no, this is not a disciplinary issue. Nobody will be removed, challenged, disciplined, suspended because they put forward or articulate their belief in Zionism."
A Green Party spokesperson said the motion would have no "material impact on governance or disciplinary procedures". "This has been a serious and deeply felt debate within our membership," the spokesperson said. "Our members value the ability to bring forward and decide party policy, and conference has now made its decision."
Four of the party's five MPs had come out publicly to reject the motion before the vote: Ellie Chowns, Sian Berry and former leaders Adrian Ramsay and Carla Denyer. Ms Chowns said in a social media post that she was concerned the motion "risks fuelling division and risks undermining the party's ability to advocate effectively for justice and peace". Afterwards, Mr Polanski and the five MPs released a joint statement saying: "We will never tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment." It added: "We know there is no conflict between supporting the rights of Palestinians and the rights of Jewish people."
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the Greens had become "an extremist party". "The motion passed by the Green Party today is an attack on the Jewish community," a statement said. "It is an antisemitic platform, based on a grossly offensive distortion and erasure of Jewish experience and identity." Israel's foreign ministry said the Greens were giving "legitimacy to terrorism". "The Greens have adopted not only the green of Hamas, but also its ideology: the elimination of the State of Israel through armed struggle," the ministry said.
Bridget Phillipson, the Labour chair, called the vote "fundamentally wrong". "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 said. The Conservatives said the vote showed the Green Party was "toxic to its core". The shadow home secretary, Chris Philp, said: "British Jews should not have to disclaim a belief in Jewish self-determination and the existence of Israel in order to be accepted by a British political party."
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