Board of Deputies passes motion declaring Green Party a 'racist party'
The Board of Deputies of British Jews (BoD) has passed a motion declaring the UK Green Party a racist party.
This resolution, adopted at the board's October Plenary Meeting, condemns the Green Party's decision to adopt a policy branding Zionism as racism, deeming the policy racist and antisemitic. The board will now treat the Greens as it has treated other “racist parties.”“Today, representatives of Jewish communities across Britain have delivered a clear verdict,” BoD president Phil Rosenberg said.“By adopting an antisemitic platform, the Green Party of England and Wales has become a racist party.
We will treat it accordingly.”“No political party has the right to tell Jews that a central part of our identity, rooted in thousands of years of history, faith and peoplehood, is racist,” he said.“The Green Party's policy brands much of our community, including our synagogues and communal organizations, with that slur. It gives prejudice against Jews a political license.”Rosenberg said the Green Party's leadership must now take responsibility for reversing this policy and “confronting the antisemitism it has legitimized.”He also noted that the BoD recognizes and commends those within the party who opposed the motion, including Jewish members whose warnings were disregarded.
Rosenberg said these individuals deserved to be heard and supported.Motion proposer Ashley Hirst said he was proud that British Jews have “said clearly” that a party which declares that this is racist “is itself a racist party.”“The board will give effect to the resolution in its dealings with the Green Party of England and Wales and continue to challenge antisemitism wherever it appears in political and public life.”Green Party became first in Europe to declare itself anti-ZionistThe Green Party became the first mainstream party in Europe to declare itself openly anti-Zionist after voting in the controversial “Zionism is racism” motion at its party conference in Brighton, UK, at the start of the month.
The motion recognizes Zionism as Israel's foundational ideology that has created and maintains an “apartheid regime” between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.It further affirms the Palestinian people's right to self-determination and liberation. It supports the establishment of a “single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine, with Jerusalem as its capital.”
Left out here: Leaves out what changes the picture
The Post never reports that the Green Party rejected the Board's declaration, or that its spokesman said the Greens do not discriminate against people who identify as Zionists. Without this, a reader believes the Board's charge of racism and antisemitism stands unanswered by the party it targets.
How we know
- Arutz Sheva / Israel National News reported“The Green Party rejected the Board of Deputies' latest condemnation.”UK Jewish leaders declare Green Party racist over 'Zionism is racism' policy (opens in a new tab)
- Arutz Sheva / Israel National News reported“rejected the Jewish organization's "characterization of this motion and our party"”UK Jewish leaders declare Green Party racist over 'Zionism is racism' policy (opens in a new tab)