Green Party Votes to Class Zionism as Racism at Annual Conference
Britain’s Green Party voted on Sunday to class Zionism as a form of racism during its annual party conference. The motion passed by a majority of 1,022 to 813, drawing immediate condemnation from British Jewish groups and the Israeli government, according to reuters.com.
Ethnonationalist Project Definition Sparks Division
The Green Party, which received 6% of the vote in the 2024 national elections, stated that it regards Zionism as an ethnonationalist political project. The motion also renewed demands for Britain’s Labour government to end all arms trade with Israel and called for the establishment of a single democratic state throughout historic Palestine, reuters.com reported. The vote passed despite opposition from many senior figures, though party leader Zack Polanski did not vote.
Jewish groups maintain that Zionism represents the right to Jewish self-determination. The definition remains deeply contentious regarding its implications for non-Jewish residents in Israel and neighboring territories.
British Jewish Groups and Israeli Government Condemn the Vote
Jewish organizations responded sharply to the conference result. The Movement for Progressive Judaism stated that the Green Party had made antisemitism party policy and become a racist party. Mothin Ali, the party’s deputy leader and a motion supporter, told Sky News that the heavy Palestinian death toll in the conflict with Hamas provided key context for the decision.
The Israeli government issued a strong rebuke, stating that it now views the Green Party as a body that gives legitimacy to terrorism. Israel called on other British political parties to condemn the vote, arguing that the Greens had adopted the ideology of Hamas.
Party Leadership Defends Stance Amid Criticism
Zack Polanski and other senior Green Party figures defended their position by stating they would continue to call out the crimes of the Netanyahu government. They maintained that no conflict exists between supporting Palestinian rights and Jewish rights. The party’s next major political test arrives as Polanski seeks election to Parliament in London.
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