Zionism is racism: Britain's Greens vote yes, Israel bars their leader

Brighton, Oct 4 — Britain's Green Party has formally declared itself an "anti-Zionist party", voting at its conference in Brighton to define Zionism as a form of racism and to endorse a single democratic Palestinian state across all of "historic Palestine", with Jerusalem as its capital. The motion passed by 1,022 votes to 813, despite opposition from four of the party's five MPs. Party leader Zack Polanski — campaigning in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election in the seat vacated by former Prime Minister Keir Starmer — did not take part in the vote. Israel's Foreign Ministry responded with unusual force. "Today, the Green Party in Britain ceased to act as a political party and became a body that gives legitimacy to terrorism," it said, accusing the Greens of adopting "not only the green of Hamas, but also its ideology: the elimination of the State of Israel through armed struggle." The ministry said the resolution legitimises armed struggle, calls for a Palestinian state "from the river to the sea" — meaning the destruction of Israel — and "labels as 'racist' the aspiration of the Jewish people for self-determination." As a "first step", Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar barred Polanski from entering Israel. The ministry said the resolution "constitutes a clear antisemitic text according to the IHRA definition, as it denies the Jewish people's right to self-determination." British Jewish groups condemned the vote. "The Green Party has made antisemitism party policy and become a racist party," the Movement for Progressive Judaism said. The motion's backers framed it as a reckoning with Gaza. Deputy leader Mothin Ali, who supported the motion, told Sky News that the heavy Palestinian death toll was the key context: "The motion defines Zionism quite clearly. It defines it as an ethnonationalist movement. It defines it as ethnic cleansing. It defines it as genocide." The party — which won 6 per cent of the vote in the 2024 national elections — also repeated its call for Britain's Labour government to end all arms trade with Israel. In a joint statement issued with the five Green MPs and his deputies, Polanski said there was "no conflict between supporting the rights of Palestinians and the rights of Jewish people." The row now follows him into the by-election campaign, where Israel's entry ban has turned a conference motion into a diplomatic incident.