Caroline Lucas Criticizes Zack Polanski’s Handling of Zionism Motion

Former Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas has criticized current leader Zack Polanski for failing to provide leadership after members passed a motion declaring Zionism a form of racism.

In an interview with Newsnight, Lucas stated that Polanski, who was absent from the debate at the party’s annual conference in Brighton, “should have been there and he should have voted.”

She characterized the motion—which defined Zionism as an ideology advocating for “an ethnonationalist Jewish state”—as both “dangerous” and “divisive.”

Following the vote, Polanski stated that he will not tolerate the exclusion of any individual from the Green Party based on their religious or communal affiliations.

Lucas made these remarks shortly after polls closed in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, where Polanski is running as a candidate.

Polanski abstained from voting on the motion after departing the conference early to campaign in the north London constituency.

Since the motion was passed on Sunday, the Green Party leader has declined media interviews and did not respond to questions from a BBC reporter regarding the issue on Thursday.

The motion also endorsed the establishment of a “single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine,” a territory that includes modern-day Israel.

According to Green Party regulations, motions approved by members become official party policy, though they may not automatically be incorporated into the party’s manifesto for the next general election.

Lucas, who cast her vote against the motion, expressed hope that Polanski would have been “a very strong critic of this motion.”

She further described the proposal as “flawed from top to bottom.”

When asked by Newsnight if Polanski should step down, she responded, “I think we should just see what happens in the coming days and weeks. Obviously, he has been completely occupied with the by-election.”

“I want him to address what has happened now, and I want him to demonstrate the leadership that was frankly absent on Sunday.”

“I think the outcome remains uncertain, but I very much hope he will.”

In response to Lucas’s comments, a Green Party source remarked, “There are ups and downs in politics, and passionate individuals often disagree during the heat of a campaign.”

“We do things differently—unlike Labour, which relies on anonymous sources and resorts to factionalism.”

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