Gaza Genocide · updated 58m ago · 3 min read
Green Party Members Pass Motion Defining Zionism as Racism in Brighton
Green Party conference in Brighton adopted motion declaring Zionism is racism, 1,022 to 813. Motion passed amid divisions among senior figures; joint deputy leaders split, some supportive.
Whether the motion legitimises armed struggle.
7 of 8 outlets skipped it: protests outside conference targeted Green members.
The Telegraph was read line by line by the Watchdog: 2.6. See the score →
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The Telegraph
“Israel has accused the Greens of giving ‘legitimacy to terrorism’ after Zack Polanski’s party adopted a controversial policy stating that Zionism is racism.”Read the original ↗
BBC
“‘The real, material, manifestation of Zionism has been the historic and ongoing dehumanisation, displacement, dispossession, disenfranchisement and destruction of Palestinians,’ it says.”Read the original ↗
The Telegraph highlights terrorism-linked consequences, while the BBC focuses on how the motion describes Zionism.
Green Party adopts motion
British Green Party members adopted a motion defining Zionism as racism at the party’s annual conference in Brighton, with the vote passing by 1,022 votes to 813. The motion called to define Zionism as an “ethno-racist settler-colonial ideology” and to declare opposition to it, while it also reaffirmed the party’s support for “liberation of Palestine,” the right of return, and the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaign. The motion also backed a complete ban on exporting weapons to Israel and called for the establishment of a “single democratic state in all of historic Palestine, with Jerusalem as its capital.”
Green Party spokesperson said the discussion was “serious and highly sensitive” among party members, and the conference made its decision emphasizing that the party is “anti-racist” and opposes Israel’s occupation of Palestinian and Syrian lands. Green Party leader Zack Polanski did not vote, and the party’s five MPs included Carla Denier, Eli Chaounes, Sian Berry, and former leader Adrian Ramsay who publicly opposed the resolution.
Division, protests, and quotes
Mothin Ali backed the move, while Rachel Millward described the wording as “problematic,” and the motion’s adoption divided senior figures within the party. Caroline Lucas told the BBC, “I think there is no single definition of Zionism and, irrespective of the intentions of those who put that motion forward, I think there is a real risk that it will be divisive and could be seen as a sign that Jewish people aren't welcome in the party.” Pro-Israel demonstrators outside the conference venue in Brighton shouted “Terrorist supporters off our streets,” and they held signs including “Anti Zionism = terrorism” as Green Party members entered.
Lubna Speitan told Middle East Eye, “[But] we have to stand strong and firm and steadfast in the face of injustice,” and she said the motion made it “explicitly clear in the motion that not all Jews are Zionist and not all Zionists are Jewish.” After the vote, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the motion went beyond “the boundaries of legitimate political debate” and was “a stain on the history of the United Kingdom.”
Legal risk and Gaza stakes
The Guardian reported that the motion is expected to be challenged under equality laws, with Adam Wagner KC saying such a case would have a good chance of succeeding. Adam Wagner KC told the Guardian, “I think there is a strong risk that the motion as passed contravenes the Equality Act 2010,” and he warned it could discriminate against and harass people who hold Zionist beliefs and Jewish people more generally. The motion’s supporters framed it as connected to the conflict in Gaza, and the BBC said debate about the motion and “the conflict in Gaza” featured heavily during the conference.B
The Independent said the motion sets out the party is anti-Zionist and defines the term as “an ethnonationalist political project,” while it also caveated that anti-Zionism should not be equated with antisemitism. The Telegraph reported that Israel accused the Greens of giving “legitimacy to terrorism,” and it said the Israeli foreign minister warned the resolution “legitimises ‘the elimination of the State of Israel through armed struggle’.”T