The Green Party of England and Wales voted on Sunday to define Zionism as a form of racism, at the end of its biggest-ever conference at the Brighton Centre. Members backed the motion by 1,022 votes to 813, making the Greens the first major UK party to declare itself anti-Zionist. Within hours, Israel’s foreign minister barred party leader Zack Polanski from entering the country.
What the Motion Says
The motion, proposed by the Greens for Palestine group, declares the party anti-Zionist and describes Zionism as “an ethnonationalist political project”. It says Zionism will be treated like any other form of racism, and rejects attempts to equate anti-Zionism with antisemitism.
It goes further than definitions. It also calls for a single democratic state across historic Palestine, freedom for Palestinian political prisoners and opposition to the ban on Palestine Action, and affirms what it calls Palestinians’ right to resistance. It restates the party’s call for the government to end all arms trade with Israel.
Three amendments were rejected. One would have created safeguards for Jewish members who attend synagogues or other institutions that support Zionism. A party spokesperson said the motion has no “material impact on governance or disciplinary procedures”, and described the debate as “serious and deeply felt”.
A Divided Party
Senior Greens were split. Several of the party’s MPs opposed the motion, including Ellie Chowns, who urged members by video link to vote against it so the party could “advocate powerfully for peace and justice”. Caroline Lucas, the former Brighton Pavilion MP and the party’s best-known figure, also spoke against it.
Supporters argued the context was the scale of Palestinian deaths in Gaza. Co-deputy leader Mothin Ali, who backed the motion, said it clearly defined Zionism as an ethnonationalist movement.
Jewish Greens were themselves divided before the vote. In August, the group warned that some members feared the motion could make Jewish members feel unwelcome. After the result, some Jewish members left the hall in tears, according to the Jewish Chronicle.
Where Was Polanski?
The party’s leader didn’t vote. Zack Polanski, who is Jewish, left the conference after his speech on Friday to campaign in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, which takes place on Thursday. He hasn’t said how he would have voted and has declined to condemn the motion. At a Jewish community hustings last week, though, he said he believed Zionism was racism.
Israel Bars Polanski
Israel reacted fast. Its Foreign Ministry said that with the vote, the party had “ceased to act as a political party and became a body that gives legitimacy to terrorism”. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar then decided to bar Polanski from entering Israel.
Israel has refused entry to British politicians before. Last year two Labour MPs, Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang, were turned away, prompting a protest from the UK government. Barring the leader of a national party, though, is a significant escalation, and it lands days before a by-election Polanski is fighting.
Jewish community organisations condemned the vote, with one calling it “an attack on the Jewish community”.
What It Means
Politically, the motion sets the Greens apart from every other major UK party. Supporters see it as moral clarity on Gaza and a way to win voters who have left Labour over the war. Opponents, including some of the party’s own MPs, see it as alienating Jewish voters and members, and as a gift to critics who want to paint the Greens as extreme.
The timing is risky. The Greens took 6% of the vote at the 2024 general election and have grown fast since. Thursday’s by-election will be the first test of whether the motion helps or hurts the party at the ballot box.
Brighton Local Angle
The vote was taken in the city where the Greens first broke through, electing Caroline Lucas as Britain’s first Green MP in 2010. The Brighton Centre was tense all weekend. On Saturday, dozens of pro-Israel demonstrators shouted at members arriving for the conference, and the party designated safe rooms for Jewish attendees.
Brighton has a long-established Jewish community and has also seen regular protests calling for a Gaza ceasefire since 2023, including demonstrations at Brighton Station. Both communities will feel the vote’s effects here long after the delegates have gone. The city’s Green MP and councillors will now face questions about where they stand.
Related Reading
- Brighton pro-Palestine campaigners protesting against Peter Kyle’s refusal to call for Gaza ceasefire this Saturday
- Pro-Palestine activists protested inside Brighton Station on Wednesday to mark 130 days of Israel-Gaza war
