Motion To Declare 'Zionism Is Racism' Looms Large At Tense Green Party Conference

A Green Party motion inviting members to vote on whether “Zionism is racism” is dominating this year’s conference.

The party’s “hyper-democratic” process means members are able to vote on official policy in a behind-closed-doors meeting.

This particularly divisive idea is currently expected to be debated on Sunday, the third day of the party’s annual gathering in Brighton.

Zionism, typically defined as the movement to create a Jewish state, has become a highly controversial topic since the Palestinian militants Hamas’s terror attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Israel then launched a full-scale offensive, causing widespread suffering in both Gaza and the West Bank.

The Green Party is already prominently pro-Palestine, but some fear this motion would go too far.

According to literature being handed out to this year’s attendees, the proposal “defines Zionism, recognises its continued harm to Palestinians, and seeks to clarify that the Green party is opposed to Zionism”.

A leaflet explaining why the motion “matters” says it will further affirm “the right to self-determination and liberation of the Palestinian people and support the establishment of a single democratic Palestinian State in all of historic Palestine.”

It adds: “The real, material manifestation of Zionism has been the historic and ongoing dehumanisation, displacement, dispossession, disenfranchisement and destruction of Palestinians.

“This is based upon European settler-colonial systems of domination and oppression, which has also created racial hierarchies between Jews of different ethnicities in Palestine.”

Caroline Lucas and Adrian Ramsay, former leaders of the party, have already condemned the idea.

Lucas told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday: “I do have serious concerns about this motion.

“There is no single definition of Zionism, and irrespective of the intentions of the people who put that motion forward, I think there is a real risk that it’ll be divisive and could be seen as a sign that Jewish people aren’t welcome in the party. I will not be supporting it for that reason.”

Ramsay told The Times: “I stand by the position the Green Party had in the 2024 manifesto, on which I was elected which made clear we want to see equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians.

“The Green Party has a strong position already on challenging the government and I think it would just be wrong to adopt a policy that could be seen as not supporting the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians to statehood.”

Deputy co-leader, Rachel Millward, also told broadcasters the motion was “problematic” as it stands.

She told Sky News: “The motion in its unamended form is problematic, I think. I certainly wouldn’t be voting for that. There are amendments that are coming through. There’ll be a debate. There are people on all sides with different opinions. We’ll have to see what happens.”

She added: “I think what’s fair to say is there’s a lot of different opinions around this motion. Some people think that it focuses more on semantics, on definitions and what we need to be doing is staying where we’re really united.” 

There are fears the proposal could end up preventing Jewish people from joining the Green Party.

Meanwhile, party leader Zack Polanski told a Jewish community hustings last week he was “anti-Zionist”.

Polanski, who is Jewish, told the crowd he thought Zionism was racism because it represents “displacement and genocide of the Palestinian people”.

However the London Assembly member has pushed for an amendment to the motion which would make sure Green members who go to Jewish synagogues and describe themselves as Zionists do not face disciplinary action.

He also backs a motion to ensure the party does not explicitly endorse a “one-state solution”.

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