The Green Party of England and Wales has become the first major UK political party to formally recognise Zionism as a form of racism.
A motion passed at the party’s conference in Brighton over the weekend said Zionism should be “treated as any other form of racism”.
It also backed the establishment of a single democratic Palestinian state “with equal rights for all” for all ethnic and religious groups, rather than a two-state solution.
A total of 1,022 Green Party members voted in favour of the motion, while 813 voted against it.
The party also reaffirmed its “commitment to Palestinian liberation” and its support for Palestinians’ right of return, as well as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
“The real, material, manifestation of Zionism has been the historic and ongoing dehumanisation, displacement, dispossession, disenfranchisement and destruction of Palestinians,” the party said in a statement.
The motion made clear that criticism of Zionism is not, in itself, antisemitic, and should not be interpreted as animosity towards Jewish people.
The vote exposed divisions within the party, with a number of members, including four of its five MPs, opposing parts of the resolution.
Polanski’s reaction
Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who is Jewish, did not take part in the vote as he was away campaigning.
In a statement released on Monday after the weekend’s vote, he said: “Antisemitism and criticism of the Israeli state are, and must always be, completely distinct – blurring the line between the two is not only wrong but antisemitic, and makes Jewish people less safe.
“It’s our role as a movement for justice to protect both the rights of Palestinians and our Jewish communities here in the UK.
“As leader I will not accept any exclusion, or refusal to engage with anyone, because of the religious or communal body they are part of.
“I take seriously my responsibility to make sure everyone feels safe and welcome in our party. Under my leadership, no-one will be made unwelcome because of their background, their faith, or where they worship.”
He added: “I am proud of our party’s principled position on fighting for freedom and justice for Palestinians.
“In the UK and across the world people have been horrified by the atrocities carried out by the Israeli government in Gaza – with a classroom of children being killed every day.
“Through the Green Party’s unified stance and dedicated pressure, we have begun to shift this government away from its complicity with the Israeli government’s atrocities in Gaza, with the Foreign Secretary now taking the long overdue step of ending trade with illegal settlements.”
Opposition to “racist systems of oppression”
British-Palestinian Green member Lubna Speitan, who authored the motion, said supporters wanted to make clear their opposition to “racist systems of oppression”.
“We stand united against all forms of racism and discrimination – no exemptions,” she added.
Holocaust survivor and activist Stephen Kapos had endorsed the motion.
“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,” he said.
Israel condemned the Green Party’s position, accusing it of legitimising “the destruction of the State of Israel”. Israeli authorities have also barred Polanski from entering the country.
The Green Party’s position comes amid a wider debate in Britain and internationally over the meaning of Zionism and its relationship to racism, Palestinian rights and the Israeli state.
It is not the first institution to label Zionism as racism. Back in 1975, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution that “determines that Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination”. The resolution was revoked in 1991.
