Green Party’s controversial motion equating Zionism with racism triggers bans, internal rifts and fierce external criticism.
The recent Green Party conference in Brighton concluded with a decisive yet divisive outcome: delegates adopted a motion that characterises Zionism as a form of racism. The proposal, championed by a group of activists, also calls for a single democratic Palestinian state encompassing historic Palestine, including present-day Israel.
The decision has reverberated far beyond party halls, prompting the Israeli foreign ministry to place a travel ban on party leader Zack Polanski and igniting heated debate among members, Jewish organisations and political figures across the United Kingdom.
While the English-and-Welsh branch of the Greens moved forward with the resolution, its sister organisation in Scotland has publicly defended the stance, describing modern-day Zionism as a belief that grants a particular ethnic group a superior claim to land.
Scottish Green co-leaders Gillian Mackay and Ross Greer echoed this sentiment, labeling the ideology “clearly and unavoidably racist” and linking it to what they describe as a genocide against the Palestinian people. The Scottish party, however, clarified that it does not endorse the specific motion and leaves the determination of a two-state or one-state future to Israelis and Palestinians themselves.
Vote outcome and internal amendments
At the Brighton conference, the motion was passed by a margin of 1,022 votes to 813, signalling a clear but not overwhelming majority among the 230,000-strong membership. During the debate, Zack Polanski who is himself Jewish, proposed two amendments: one to insert explicit protections for Jewish members within the party, and another to remove the clause demanding a single Palestinian state. Both amendments were rejected by the voting delegates, reflecting the depth of conviction among the grassroots activists supporting the original wording. Polanski abstained from the final vote, having left the venue early to campaign in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.
Four of the party’s five MPs – Ellie Chowns, Adrian Ramsay, Carla Denyer and Sian Berry – publicly opposed the resolution, warning that it could alienate Jewish supporters. Co-deputy leader Rachel Millward described the motion as “problematic”, while deputy leader Mothin Ali defended it as a call for a democratic state that guarantees rights for all residents. The internal split highlights a broader tension between the party’s newly enlarged membership base, attracted by progressive activism, and its elected representatives who fear electoral fallout.
Reactions and repercussions
The motion immediately provoked condemnation from major Jewish bodies. The Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council issued a joint statement asserting that “Zionism is anti-racism, creating a refuge for Jews in their ancient homeland after millennia of persecution”. They warned that branding Zionism as racism could stoke anti-Jewish sentiment, especially after a year marked by attacks on synagogues and community centres in Britain. Vivien Lichtenstein, chair of Jewish Greens, told the BBC that she might leave the party, describing the resolution as a line “quite possibly” crossed.
Israel’s foreign ministry labelled the motion “a clear antisemitic text” and announced the travel ban on Polanski, calling the resolution “a stain on the history of the United Kingdom”. Scottish First Minister John Swinney warned against parties redefining legal definitions of racism, reaffirming his support for a two-state solution. Across the political spectrum, Labour’s Bridget Phillipson, Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp and Liberal Democrat MP Luke Taylor all criticised the Greens, accusing them of fostering division and endangering the safety of British Jews.
