UK Green Party Adopts Controversial Policy Classifying Zionism as Racism

The Green Party has formally adopted a binding policy stating that Zionism should be treated as a form of racism and calling for Israel to be replaced by a single Palestinian state. The decision, taken at a conference in Brighton, was opposed by most of the party’s parliamentary members and may face legal challenges.

Zack Polanski, who leads the party in England and Wales, was absent from the vote while campaigning in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election. He has drawn criticism for what some regard as insufficient leadership on a deeply divisive issue.

Concerns were also raised that the policy change was advanced mainly by recently joined members with little broader engagement with the party’s other policies.

Four of the Green Party’s five MPs opposed the motion. Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns said they were “deeply saddened”, while Siân Berry and Carla Denyer said they would support any Jewish members who felt targeted because of the policy shift.

The motion, passed by 1,022 votes to 813, says Zionism, defined as the movement for a Jewish state, should be “treated as any other form of racism”. It also calls for the creation of a single Palestinian state “with equal rights for all” in place of Israel.

Opinion among Jewish Green members is divided, but some have expressed concern that they could face disciplinary action for belonging to Jewish organisations that officially support Zionism, including some synagogues.

After the vote, Salma Yaqoob, a backer of the motion and former member of George Galloway’s Respect party, said members would not be disciplined for expressing Zionist views. “Nobody will be removed, challenged, disciplined, suspended because they put forward or articulate their belief in Zionism,” she said.

However, an amendment stating that the motion should not be used to “pressure, proscribe or discipline members based on affiliation with Jewish community institutions” was defeated.

Some Green members are reportedly consulting lawyers over whether the policy could be challenged under equality legislation. Adam Wagner KC, the barrister who represented claimants in a case that found the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn had breached equality laws over antisemitism, said a legal challenge would have a good chance of success.

“I think there is a strong risk that the motion as passed contravenes the Equality Act 2010, which applies to political parties, as it will discriminate against and harass people who hold Zionist beliefs and Jewish people more generally,” he said.

He added that Zionism, when broadly defined as support for a Jewish state, is likely to qualify as a protected belief under the Act.

The motion argues that Zionism is inherently racist because it “privileges one ethnic group on the basis of the subjugation of others”. It states that it targets the political ideology and practice of Zionism, not the religious or ethnic identity of individuals. “Not all Jews are Zionists and not all Zionists are Jews… Zionism, as defined above, will be treated as any other form of racism, and this motion will be implemented by the anti-racism policy working group as appropriate and in accordance with its ordinary practice.”

During the lengthy debate, which was restricted to members, Chowns and former leader Caroline Lucas, the Green Party’s first MP, spoke against the plan. The motion had been advanced by a group called Greens for Palestine, which had encouraged non-members to join the party so the policy could be debated and adopted. After it passed, supporters moved to the front of the hall to celebrate.

One member who opposed the motion said: “There are now two Green parties – the everyday members, and those who have joined for just one reason, Palestine, and who have no interest in anything else.”

Some senior Greens have expressed disquiet that Polanski, who is Jewish, could have taken a firmer position. The party leader has defended the motion’s broad argument by referring to the death toll in Gaza during Israel’s military campaign in the territory.

Asked on Saturday whether he considered Zionism racist, Polanski told the BBC: “Well, in the motion, it is defined as the displacement and genocide of the Palestinian people. I think that is clearly racism.”

After the vote, the party’s five MPs, together with Polanski and his two co-deputy leaders, issued a joint statement saying the party “will never tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment”. They added: “We know there is no conflict between supporting the rights of Palestinians and the rights of Jewish people.”

Ramsay, Chowns, Berry and Denyer each shared the statement on social media while noting their opposition to the motion.

The Movement for Progressive Judaism, one of the UK’s main Jewish denominations, condemned the vote. It said: “The motion is antisemitic in its formulation and intention. By adopting it, the Green party has made antisemitism party policy and become a racist party. Jewish self-determination is a right. Declaring it racist is an attack on Jews. The Green party has chosen to brand Jews who hold this belief as racists and make their equal participation in the party conditional on renouncing it.”

Adam Langleben, who coordinated complaints from the Jewish Labour Movement to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said: “This is without doubt the most antisemitic and racist motion brought before a mainstream political party in my lifetime. It is Corbynism on steroids, and would seem even more open to legal challenge.”

Source link