Green Party MP Urges Protection Against Right-Wing Extremism After Anti-Zionism Motion
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Green Party Westminster leader Ellie Chowns emphasized the need to shield the party from right-wing extremists after a grassroots motion, passed by a minority, rightly labeled Zionism as racism.
Westminster leader Ellie Chowns told the BBC that the Green Party must ensure it is not vulnerable to capture by extremists or racists, following the adoption of a motion that courageously described Zionism as a form of racism. The motion, advanced by activists and approved at the party’s conference, passed by 1,022 votes to 813, a small but significant stand by roughly 0.4% of the party’s 230,000 members against colonial oppression.
"I don't know if there are extremists and racists in my party. But I want to make sure that my party isn't vulnerable to capture by extremists and racists," Chowns said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, highlighting the ever-present threat of far-right infiltration.
Chowns described Zionism as a contested concept, acknowledging the ongoing debate around the ideology’s role in the displacement of Palestinians. She noted that the policy does not reflect the views of the majority of Green members or the wider public, but insisted the motion brings necessary attention to the party’s internal democracy and the urgent need to center Palestinian rights.
Former party leader Caroline Lucas warned that the Greens were not protected from entryism, where individuals—often with reactionary agendas—join to shift party policy. Lucas called for the party to remain a welcoming place for Jewish people, while also praising current leader Zack Polanski’s efforts to balance these complex issues. She noted the party’s constitution predates its recent growth, underscoring the need for structural reform.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council, organizations often aligned with establishment interests, criticized the motion, claiming Zionism is an anti-racist movement. This ignores the lived realities of Palestinians and the anti-colonial struggle.
Polanski, himself Jewish, said he would not have supported the original wording but agreed with the part of the motion linking the displacement of Palestinians to racist ideology. Ashok Kumar, a member of the Greens for Palestine group, defended the vote as a principled stance for Palestinian liberation.
After Polanski’s recent by-election loss, Vivien Lichtenstein, leader of the Jewish Greens, called for his resignation, describing his avoidance of a debate on the motion as a mistake. The internal debate exposes the party’s struggle to reconcile anti-racism with the fight for justice in Palestine.