Green Party members to vote on declaring Zionism a form of racism at conference Imran Mulla on Fri, 10/02/2026 - 16:05 If the motion passes, the Greens will become the first major party in Britain to recognise Zionism as a form of racism Leader of the Green Party, Zack Polanski, takes part in a march against far-right extremism, organised by the Together Alliance, in London on 28 March 2026 (Reuters/Hannah McKay) Off The Green Party’s annual conference has begun in the seaside town of Brighton, just two days after the ruling Labour Party’s conference ended. Party members are gearing up to vote on an unprecedented motion to declare Zionism a form of racism. The vote is expected to take place on Sunday, according to party insiders. If the motion passes, it will become official policy and the Greens will become the first major party in the country to recognise Zionism as racism. A party organiser involved in promoting the motion told Middle East Eye she believed it was highly likely to pass, saying it has significant support among the membership. The motion has been endorsed by prominent Holocaust survivor and activist Stephen Kapos, who said: “I am in full agreement with the motion being proposed and, as a child survivor of World War Two Holocaust and a Jew, [I] believe that Zionism both as an ideology and practice is harmful and has no legitimacy and must be rejected.” (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); British-Palestinian Lubna Speitan, the lead author of the motion, said: “We must directly confront the ideology that normalises our suffering, the racism of Zionism and its narrative, which inverts victim and oppressor. “Palestinians and their allies – Muslim, Christian, Jewish and those without faith alike – drafted the motion 'Zionism is Racism', to be debated and voted on at the Green Party Conference and to be shared with other organisations, trade unions and political parties.” But the motion, which calls for a single democratic Palestinian state with equal rights for ethnic and religious groups, is drawing heavy criticism from within the party itself. "Keir Starmer is only going to get more unpopular by the next election." pic.twitter.com/WUoQrZiRg6 May 27, 2025 Two former Green leaders denounced the motion on Friday, with Caroline Lucas - who was for years the party’s only MP - labelling it divisive, saying: “I do have serious concerns about this motion. "There is no single definition of Zionism, and irrespective of the intentions of the people who put that motion forward, I think there is a real risk that it’ll be divisive and could be seen as a sign that Jewish people aren’t welcome in the party.” Meanwhile former Green co-leader Adrian Ramsay said: “It would just be wrong to adopt a policy that could be seen as not supporting the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians to statehood.” (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); He added: “I stand by the position the Green Party had in the 2024 manifesto, on which I was elected, which made clear we want to see equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians.” Amendments to the motion Green leader Zack Polanski, who is Jewish himself, said last month the motion needs to be amended to say “very clearly and explicitly that this motion safeguards Jewish people. "And what it means by that is if someone stands against the occupation, stands against apartheid, stands against the genocide, but happens to be a member of a synagogue that calls itself a Zionist synagogue, they should not be treated any differently within the Green Party.” Exclusive: Zack Polanski says UK should defy Israel on fate of British Consulate in East Jerusalem Read More » Polanski added: “Second, there’s a line in it that talks about a single Palestinian state. I think there’s something quite imperial about this for the British Government, or indeed the Green Party of England and Wales, to decide what the future settlement of Palestine and Israel looks like. “I think my job as leader of the Green Party, the Green Party’s job, is to maintain justice and equality both for Palestinians and Israelis.” MEE understands that members are expected to vote on amendments to the motion on Sunday. The motion itself reads: “Zionism is a political ideology which called for the creation – and, now it exists, the continuity – of an ethnonationalist Jewish State in historic Palestine to the exclusion and/ or domination of the non-Jewish population. “The real, material manifestation of Zionism has been the historic and ongoing dehumanisation, displacement, dispossession, disenfranchisement and destruction of Palestinians.” It adds: “This motion is aimed at the political ideology and practice of Zionism, as defined, and not at the religious or ethnic background of those who may identify as Zionists. Not all Jews are Zionists and not all Zionists are Jews.” A booklet published by the motion’s authors and distributed at the conference advocates for a “single democratic State in the whole of Palestine, for Muslims, Jews, Christians and people of no faith. "This was the situation in 1947, when the Arab States, the Palestinians and the Latin American States put forward a UN Resolution asking exactly that and opposing the partition of Palestine.” (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The booklet adds: “Would an ethnonationalist State for a different ethnicity to the exclusion of another anywhere else be acceptable? Would calling for Britain to be for Whites only, or for Christians only, ever be acceptable within any respectable antiracist space?” Explaining his views further last week, Polanski said: “I think the problem with definitions is they mean different things to different people. If you’re defining Zionism as the displacement and genocide of the Palestinians, which is how in practice Zionism has become in truth, then that is racist.” In his speech to the conference on Friday afternoon, Polanski focused on the cost of living and putting pressure on Prime Minister Andy Burnham on housing. He urged the Labour government to “put in place a three-year emergency brake on private rents”. Labour has so far ruled out rent controls. He declared: “Vote Green and watch Labour move,” arguing the Greens have forced Labour to the left on key political issues, including on Israel. Polanski is the party’s parliamentary candidate in a by-election in London’s Holborn and St Pancras in less than a week on 8 October. UK Politics News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
The Green Party’s annual conference has begun in the seaside town of Brighton, just two days after the ruling Labour Party’s conference ended.
Party members are gearing up to vote on an unprecedented motion to declare Zionism a form of racism.
The vote is expected to take place on Sunday, according to party insiders. If the motion passes, it will become official policy and the Greens will become the first major party in the country to recognise Zionism as racism.
A party organiser involved in promoting the motion told Middle East Eye she believed it was highly likely to pass, saying it has significant support among the membership.
The motion has been endorsed by prominent Holocaust survivor and activist Stephen Kapos, who said: “I am in full agreement with the motion being proposed and, as a child survivor of World War Two Holocaust and a Jew, [I] believe that Zionism both as an ideology and practice is harmful and has no legitimacy and must be rejected.”
British-Palestinian Lubna Speitan, the lead author of the motion, said: “We must directly confront the ideology that normalises our suffering, the racism of Zionism and its narrative, which inverts victim and oppressor.
“Palestinians and their allies – Muslim, Christian, Jewish and those without faith alike – drafted the motion 'Zionism is Racism', to be debated and voted on at the Green Party Conference and to be shared with other organisations, trade unions and political parties.”
But the motion, which calls for a single democratic Palestinian state with equal rights for ethnic and religious groups, is drawing heavy criticism from within the party itself.
"Keir Starmer is only going to get more unpopular by the next election." In this interview, Zack Polanski, Green Party leader hopeful, tells MEE how he aims to revolutionise British politics with a left-wing populism that can challenge Nigel Farage's Reform pic.twitter.com/WUoQrZiRg6
Two former Green leaders denounced the motion on Friday, with Caroline Lucas - who was for years the party’s only MP - labelling it divisive, saying: “I do have serious concerns about this motion.
"There is no single definition of Zionism, and irrespective of the intentions of the people who put that motion forward, I think there is a real risk that it’ll be divisive and could be seen as a sign that Jewish people aren’t welcome in the party.”
Meanwhile former Green co-leader Adrian Ramsay said: “It would just be wrong to adopt a policy that could be seen as not supporting the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians to statehood.”
He added: “I stand by the position the Green Party had in the 2024 manifesto, on which I was elected, which made clear we want to see equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians.”
Green leader Zack Polanski, who is Jewish himself, said last month the motion needs to be amended to say “very clearly and explicitly that this motion safeguards Jewish people.
"And what it means by that is if someone stands against the occupation, stands against apartheid, stands against the genocide, but happens to be a member of a synagogue that calls itself a Zionist synagogue, they should not be treated any differently within the Green Party.”
Polanski added: “Second, there’s a line in it that talks about a single Palestinian state. I think there’s something quite imperial about this for the British Government, or indeed the Green Party of England and Wales, to decide what the future settlement of Palestine and Israel looks like.
“I think my job as leader of the Green Party, the Green Party’s job, is to maintain justice and equality both for Palestinians and Israelis.”
MEE understands that members are expected to vote on amendments to the motion on Sunday.
The motion itself reads: “Zionism is a political ideology which called for the creation – and, now it exists, the continuity – of an ethnonationalist Jewish State in historic Palestine to the exclusion and/ or domination of the non-Jewish population.
“The real, material manifestation of Zionism has been the historic and ongoing dehumanisation, displacement, dispossession, disenfranchisement and destruction of Palestinians.”
It adds: “This motion is aimed at the political ideology and practice of Zionism, as defined, and not at the religious or ethnic background of those who may identify as Zionists. Not all Jews are Zionists and not all Zionists are Jews.”
A booklet published by the motion’s authors and distributed at the conference advocates for a “single democratic State in the whole of Palestine, for Muslims, Jews, Christians and people of no faith.
"This was the situation in 1947, when the Arab States, the Palestinians and the Latin American States put forward a UN Resolution asking exactly that and opposing the partition of Palestine.”
The booklet adds: “Would an ethnonationalist State for a different ethnicity to the exclusion of another anywhere else be acceptable? Would calling for Britain to be for Whites only, or for Christians only, ever be acceptable within any respectable antiracist space?”
Explaining his views further last week, Polanski said: “I think the problem with definitions is they mean different things to different people. If you’re defining Zionism as the displacement and genocide of the Palestinians, which is how in practice Zionism has become in truth, then that is racist.”
In his speech to the conference on Friday afternoon, Polanski focused on the cost of living and putting pressure on Prime Minister Andy Burnham on housing. He urged the Labour government to “put in place a three-year emergency brake on private rents”. Labour has so far ruled out rent controls.
He declared: “Vote Green and watch Labour move,” arguing the Greens have forced Labour to the left on key political issues, including on Israel.
Polanski is the party’s parliamentary candidate in a by-election in London’s Holborn and St Pancras in less than a week on 8 October.