Greens are no longer a party of peace after ‘Zionism is racism’ motion

Forget your white doves and peace signs. The Green Party isn’t interested anymore. Much has been made of their recent motion – “Zionism is Racism”. It is dangerous, fuels division, alienates Jewish communities, doesn’t reflect traditional Green principles, and has caused serious hurt. And that’s just the feedback from Green MPs and past leaders themselves. Our prime minister has led condemnation across the political spectrum for a motion which is antisemitic, discriminatory, and wholly irresponsible.

Jewish community groups have condemned it as racist, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission have written to the Green Party seeking further information. The Labour Party has made clear it will not partner with Greens, nationally or locally, following the passing of the motion. Some Greens have sought to defend the policy as purely a debate over political ideology, rather than an attack on the many Jewish individuals who identify as Zionists – widely understood to be the belief in the Jewish people’s right to self-determination.

Indeed, it is that belief in self-determination that drives the Government to continue to advocate for a two-state solution where both Israelis and Palestinians can shape their own future. That Green defence is undermined if you scratch just millimetres below the surface. Chants of “Zionists not welcome here” echoed through the hallways of their party conference after the motion passed. Students in Glasgow, inspired by the Greens, are calling for university societies to amend their constitutions to create a “Zionist free environment”.

And now in Barnet, the council with the most Jewish residents, our sole Green Councillor has said the quiet part out loud. Cllr Charli Thompson was asked by The Finch if she supported the dismantling of the State of Israel. Yes, she replied. She equivocated on the question of disarmament. She accused me of using the Zionism is Racism motion as a political football, after I wrote to her setting out just how offensive so many of my constituents – and I – found it.

Deny, distort, and allege bad faith whenever Jews report antisemitism – it is a familiar, if disturbing, playbook from the Corbyn years. I fought against antisemitism in my own party then. But even Jeremy Corbyn didn’t preside over a party where so many members actively voted for a discriminatory policy that is so utterly unbothered with actual peace for actual people in Israel and Palestine. Let’s be clear – peace is the only lasting solution to the conflict in the Middle East, and it will be achieved by leaders and activists in Israel and Palestine.

It will not be achieved by the Green Party of England and Wales – not least when their policy, and some of their politicians, won’t disavow “armed struggle”, and want a nation state to be actively “dismantled”. Their policy is beyond even that advocated in mainstream Palestinian politics, and by the Palestinian Authority. I know more than most how the conflict in the Middle East is imported onto the streets of Britain. Dealing with several antisemitic terrorist attacks in my constituency, Finchley & Golders Green, taught me that building more cohesive communities is the only way through.

Politics as a unifying force, not a divisive race to the bottom. The publication of the Bell Review underlines just how irresponsible the new Green Party is. Political discourse that favours simplistic slogans over nuanced and sensitive engagement creates a climate where antisemitism can be normalised. Three in five Jewish children surveyed had experienced or witnessed antisemitism in their school. Our politicians cannot muddy the water by denying antisemitism or rejecting Jewish experiences.

Cllr Thompson’s views are extreme, out of step with the diverse communities she is supposed to represent, and do nothing to advance peace – not in Israel and Palestine, and not on the streets of North London. The Green Party have turned their back on those of us who yearn for peace. I expect, if they haven’t already, those who yearn for peace will soon turn their back on the Green Party.