UK Green Party classifies Zionism as racism, sparking diplomatic backlash
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The Green Party voted to label Zionism an ethnonationalist form of racism, prompting criticism from British Jewish groups and a response from Israel that it now views the party as legitimising terrorism.
The Green Party of Britain voted on Sunday to describe Zionism as an ethnonationalist political project and a form of racism. The motion, which passed by a margin of 1,022 to 813, also reaffirmed the party’s support for Palestinian self-determination and called for a single democratic state across historic Palestine. The party’s statement reiterated its demand that the UK Labour government end all arms trade with Israel.
Party leader Zack Polanski, who is contesting a parliamentary seat in London, abstained from the vote. Deputy leader Mothin Ali said the heavy Palestinian death toll in the recent Israel-Hamas conflict provided the context for the decision, adding that the motion defines Zionism as “ethnic cleansing” and “genocide.”
British Jewish organisations condemned the resolution. The Movement for Progressive Judaism said the Green Party had made antisemitism part of its policy and become a racist party.
Israel’s foreign minister announced that Polanski would be barred from entering Israel, stating the motion “constitutes a clear antisemitic text according to the IHRA definition, as it denies the Jewish people’s right to self-determination.” The Israeli government also urged other UK parties to denounce the Green Party’s stance, accusing it of adopting Hamas’s ideology and seeking the elimination of the Israeli state through armed struggle.
Green Party officials responded that they would continue to criticize what they described as “heinous crimes” by the Netanyahu government and asserted that supporting Palestinian rights does not conflict with supporting Jewish rights.