UK Green Party Members Vote to Define Zionism as Racism, Sparking Internal Division

Motion Passes Despite Leadership Opposition

Members of the UK Green Party have approved a motion characterizing Zionism as a form of racism, marking a significant and contentious policy shift for the party. The measure passed with 1022 votes in favor and 813 against at the party's conference in Brighton. The motion defines Zionism as an ideology supporting an ethnonationalist Jewish state and commits the party to backing a single democratic Palestinian state encompassing all of historic Palestine. The policy statement contends that Zionism's material manifestation has involved the systematic dehumanization, displacement, and dispossession of Palestinians throughout history and ongoing.

Leadership Divided on the Issue

The vote has exposed deep fractures within the party's upper echelon. Party leader Zack Polanski, who did not vote on the motion after leaving the conference early to campaign in Holborn and St Pancras, publicly opposed key elements of the motion. He argued against the reference to a single Palestinian state, contending that the British Green Party should not dictate settlement terms. He also sought an amendment explicitly protecting Jewish party members who attend Zionist-identified synagogues from disciplinary action. Both amendments failed. Joint deputy leader Rachel Millward described the motion's wording as problematic, while fellow deputy leader Mothin Ali endorsed the policy, framing it as calling for a state guaranteeing democratic rights for all inhabitants. Three of the party's five MPs—Ellie Chowns, Adrian Ramsay, and Carla Denyer—publicly opposed the motion, with Denyer warning it could alienate Jewish supporters.

Jewish Organizations and Community Responses

The motion has drawn sharp criticism from major Jewish organizations. The Board of Deputies and Jewish Leadership Council submitted a letter to the party before the vote, contending that Zionism represents an anti-racist movement formed partly as a response to antisemitism, offering refuge for Jews in their ancestral homeland following centuries of persecution. These organizations raised safety concerns for Jewish party members and flagged potential implications for Jewish institutions operating in areas represented by Green MPs. Vivien Lichtenstein, chair of the Jewish Greens caucus, stated she would consider her future in the party following the vote's approval.

Former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas, though not currently a voting member in the formal structures, spoke against the motion during debate, arguing that Zionism lacks a single definition and that the motion risks signaling that Jewish people are unwelcome in the party. Multiple figures emphasized the absence of inherent conflict between supporting Palestinian rights and protecting Jewish rights.

International Reaction and Policy Status

Israel's Foreign Ministry characterized the motion as exceeding legitimate political boundaries, calling it a stain on Britain's historical record. The Green Party has clarified that member-approved motions automatically become official party policy under party rules, though such policies need not be incorporated into the general election manifesto. The party issued a joint statement from its five MPs and deputy leaders pledging commitment to being an anti-racist party without conflict between Palestinian and Jewish rights, though it did not explicitly address the motion's specific language or endorse it.

The debate occurred amid a broader surge in Green Party membership following Polanski's election as leader last year, and questions about the motion have dominated much of the three-day conference proceedings. The party's spokeswoman reiterated assurances that Jewish members would be protected and not persecuted for synagogue attendance, though this pledge has not fully assuaged community concerns.