Green Party passes Zionism racism motion as Israel bans Polanski and backlash grows

The Green Party conference in Brighton has ended with the party deeply divided after members voted to declare Zionism a form of racism and to support a single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine. The motion passed by 1,022 votes to 813, a margin of 56 per cent to 44 per cent. It also rejected a proposed amendment that would have protected Jewish members who belong to synagogues or community organisations that describe themselves as Zionist.

Before the vote, leader Zack Polanski had used his conference speech to announce a three-year cap on private rent rises, a national fair rents guarantee, higher taxes on the very richest, public ownership of services and a clean energy revolution. Those policies were overshadowed by the Zionism row, which had been building for days. Polanski, who is Jewish, did not take part in the debate or vote. He supported amendments to soften the motion and add protections for Jewish members, but those changes were defeated. Four of the party's five MPs opposed the motion. Deputy leader Mothin Ali voted for it.

The motion was proposed by activists and backed by Greens for Palestine. It defines Zionism as an ideology supporting an ethno-nationalist Jewish state and says it will be treated as any other form of racism. It also supports a single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital, effectively rejecting a two-state solution. Supporters say the motion is about Palestinian liberation and separating Zionism from Judaism. Critics say it labels a core part of Jewish identity as racist and makes Jewish members feel unwelcome.

The backlash was immediate. Israel's foreign ministry called the motion an anti-Semitic text, said it legitimised terrorism and described it as a stain on UK history. It barred Polanski from entering Israel. Britain's Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, called the vote poisonous anti-Semitism. The Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council said it was an attack on the Jewish community. The chair of the Jewish Greens said she was considering her future in the party, and some members said they would quit. A Holocaust survivor who supports the motion said he did not believe it targeted Jewish people.

The Green Party leadership and its five MPs issued a joint statement saying they would not tolerate harassment or discrimination and that there was no conflict between supporting the rights of Palestinians and the rights of Jewish people. Polanski later said anti-Semitism and criticism of the Israeli state must be completely distinct, and that blurring the line between them is anti-Semitic. He also said no one would be unwelcome in the party because of their faith or where they worship. A party spokesperson said the Greens would not be bullied into silence by the Israeli government.

The row has exposed a wider fight over the party's direction. Membership has grown sharply since Polanski became leader, and the Greens made record gains in local elections. But polling has slipped from around 20 per cent earlier in the year to around 10 or 11 per cent, with Labour under Andy Burnham enjoying a bounce. Polanski is contesting the Holborn and St Pancras by-election and has avoided interviews on the motion. Some activists celebrated the vote as a break from the party's old image, while others said it risked turning the Greens into a narrower, more hard-left force. Nine Labour MPs reported the party to Sussex Police for possible anti-Semitic offences, and more than a dozen referred it to the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Senior figures from other parties condemned the motion, and questions remain about whether the Greens could work with Labour in any future coalition.