Jewish Greens in tears as party votes Zionism is racism; Israel bars leader who skipped the vote

When the result was read out in Brighton on Sunday, some Jewish members of the Green Party were in tears. The Jewish Chronicle described them as shocked and speaking of betrayal ¹⁰. By Monday the chair of Jewish Greens, Vivien Lichtenstein, was telling BBC Radio 4 that the motion "crosses a line" and that it is "quite possible" she will leave. She said she had not decided ⁴¹. Individual resignations have followed. Whatever else this episode turns out to be, it began as a party hurting the people it says it wants to protect.

Members of the Green Party of England and Wales voted 1,022 to 813 for motion A105. It declares the party anti-Zionist and says Zionism will be treated as any other form of racism ¹⁴. Reports describe it as a first for a mainstream British party ³⁹. The same evening Israel's Foreign Ministry declared the Greens' leader, Zack Polanski, barred from entering Israel. Polanski had left the conference before the vote and took no part in it ²¹¹.

The text published as the one that passed does six things ²⁹. It declares the party anti-Zionist. It rejects equating anti-Zionism with antisemitism and says Jewish identity must not be equated with Zionist ideology. It backs a single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine, with Jerusalem as capital and a right of return. It affirms Palestinian self-determination, including resistance and liberation "by all available means under international law". It supports boycott, divestment and sanctions and full UK embargoes on Israel. It calls for the release of Palestinian prisoners including Marwan Barghouti. The party's own announcement summarises the anti-Zionist declaration and the single-state position, and says anti-Zionism should not be equated with antisemitism ⁴.

One thing is not settled: the wording. The Telegraph's preview on 3 October said the motion would also demand an end to the ban on Palestine Action ³. The tabled text called for de-proscription and the release of people detained for non-violent direct action. The published text of what passed omits both clauses, and the party's press release does not mention Palestine Action. Some members say the adopted motion did include them ²⁹. The resistance clause, by contrast, is in the published text, and Israel's ministry read it as legitimising armed struggle ¹⁴. Until the party publishes the authenticated final wording, anyone describing the policy on Palestine Action is describing a disputed text.

Amendments meant to soften the motion failed. One would have barred its use to "pressure, proscribe or discipline" members over links to synagogues or Jewish bodies that call themselves Zionist. It was rejected by about 1,026 to somewhere between 648 and 684, depending on the report ⁷¹⁰²⁹. Another amendment, to soften the single-state wording, was also defeated ²⁹.

The leadership team split. Deputy leader Mothin Ali backed the motion in its original form. The other deputy, Rachel Millward, voted against. She said she was certain it would be divisive, while still calling for an arms embargo and an end to the UK-Israel trade agreement. She wrote that Palestinian freedom and Jewish safety are not competing principles ⁹¹. Four of the party's five MPs opposed it, according to Channel 4. Euronews says at least three did ¹¹⁴. MP Adrian Ramsey notes that fewer than 1% of members voted. That is his claim, and it describes how narrow the mandate is. It does not change what the party's rules now say ¹.

Polanski describes himself as anti-Zionist and is Jewish. Before the vote he said whether Zionism is racism depends on how the term is defined, and he sought amendments to water the motion down ³. Then he left Brighton after his Friday speech to campaign in the by-election. In that speech he said the government should "drop the charges, end the genocide, de-proscribe Palestine Action" ⁴⁷. ITV reports that he has otherwise kept a low profile and not spoken at length about the motion ². The leader, both deputies and all five MPs then issued a joint statement. It pledged to keep the party anti-racist and said there is no conflict between supporting Palestinians' rights and Jewish people's rights ¹. In a personal statement Polanski went further:

That is a clear promise. It is also a promise from a leader who did not vote and who cannot point to the clause that guarantees it, because members rejected the safeguard that would have supplied one. Jewish members who worry about being made unwelcome are being asked to rely on his word and the party's good faith, not on text. The pledge also sits beside his statement that he is proud of the party's stance on Palestinian freedom ²⁵. The leadership's line is that the party can be anti-Zionist and anti-racist at once. Many Jewish members have just said they do not believe it.

On Sunday evening Israel's Foreign Ministry said Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar had decided to declare Polanski barred from entering Israel. It said the decision was coordinated with the relevant authorities and called it a first step. It called the resolution a "clear antisemitic text" because it denies Jewish self-determination, and said it legitimises armed struggle and a Palestinian state from the river to the sea ¹⁶¹⁴²⁰. A Green spokesperson said the party would not be bullied into silence by the Israeli government ². The legal mechanism of the bar and any further steps have not been set out. The Independent has listed other British politicians previously barred from Israel ⁴⁶. Polanski is not the first, and the practical effect on a party leader who has no stated plans to travel is likely to be symbolic. The statement still lets Israel's government cast the Greens' leader as the face of a policy he did not vote for and publicly qualified.

Fifteen candidates are standing in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, which polls on Thursday 8 October from 7am to 10pm. The seat was vacated when Sir Keir Starmer resigned as an MP on 1 September, and Polanski is the Green candidate ³⁵³⁷². The constituency has a large Jewish community. Named departures so far include former councillor Andrée Frieze, Sefton councillor Kieran Dams and Amnesty International UK chair Sandy Ruthven. These are individual resignations, not a formal break-up of Jewish Greens ⁴⁵¹⁰. UK Jewish groups say the motion stokes hatred after a string of attacks on their community. The government and other parties condemned it ¹⁴. The party has also been reported to the Equality and Human Rights Commission ⁴³. ITV and a commentator say the policy could invite a legal challenge because Zionism has many definitions. That is a less firm claim, and no challenge has been filed in the material we have ².