At a weekend conference in Brighton, the Green Party passed a motion defining Zionism as an ethnonationalist ideology — a vote that has cleaved the party's own leadership, alarmed Jewish communities across Britain, and prompted Israel to bar the party's leader from its borders. The decision reflects a recurring tension in democratic politics between the impulse to take moral stands on contested historical questions and the responsibility to protect the dignity and safety of minority communities at home. With Jewish members reporting fear and alienation, and cross-party condemnation arriving sw
Green Party motion on Zionism sparks Israel ban, internal divisions
Jewish community members report feeling scared and unwelcome in the Green Party following the vote; concerns raised about safety of British Jews.
scared and unwelcome in our party
Mark
So the Green Party voted to say Zionism is racism. What exactly did the motion say?
Mimi
It defined Zionism as an ideology supporting an ethnonationalist Jewish state, and it backed a single democratic Palestinian state across all of historic Palestine. The motion argued that Zionism has involved the displacement and destruction of Palestinians.
Mark
And how did the vote break down?
Mimi
1,022 in favor, 813 against. So it passed, but it wasn't overwhelming—there was real opposition inside the party.
Luke
Right, and that opposition included four of the five Green MPs and the former party leader. That's significant internal resistance.
Mark
What did the Jewish groups say?
Mimi
The Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council called it an attack on the Jewish community. They said Zionism created a refuge for Jews after persecution, and that calling most British Jews racist stokes hatred at a time when Jews have been murdered at synagogues and had buildings firebombed.
Mark
Did the party leader vote on this?
Mimi
No. Zack Polanski left early to campaign in a by-election. He'd tried to amend the motion—wanted to remove the single-state language and add protections for Jewish members—but both amendments were rejected.
Luke
So he opposed parts of it but didn't vote against it, and then signed a statement saying the party opposes racism. That's a complicated position.
Mark
What happened after the vote?
Mimi
Israel banned Polanski from the country, called the motion antisemitic. The Jewish chair of the Green Party's Jewish members group said she was considering leaving. And Labour, the Conservatives, and the Lib Dems all condemned it.
Luke
One thing worth noting: the motion is now official party policy, but it won't necessarily be in the manifesto for the next election. So there's a gap between what members voted for and what the party will actually campaign on.
Mark
Why does that matter?
Luke
Because it means the party leadership might be able to distance itself from this without technically reversing the vote. Members made a statement; the leadership can choose how to carry it forward.
Il Polso
- A narrow but decisive majority of Green members — 1,022 to 813 — voted to brand Zionism a racist ideology, instantly transforming a conference motion into a national controversy.
- Israel's foreign ministry banned party leader Zack Polanski from the country within hours, while the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council condemned the vote as an attack on the Jewish community.
- Four of five Green MPs, former leader Caroline Lucas, and one of two deputy leaders had publicly opposed the motion, leaving the party's leadership visibly fractured and its internal trust badly damaged.
- Jewish Greens chairwoman Vivien Lichtenstein told the BBC she was reconsidering her future in the party, as members reported feeling scared and unwelcome — a human cost unfolding in real time.
- Labour, the Conservatives, and the Liberal Democrats all condemned the vote, with critics arguing the motion conflates support for Jewish self-determination with racism and makes British Jews less safe.
- The motion is now official Green Party policy, though its path to the next manifesto remains uncertain — leaving the party navigating both legal obligations to protect Jewish members and the political fallout of a vote it cannot easily undo.
At a weekend conference in Brighton, the Green Party passed a motion defining Zionism as an ethnonationalist ideology — a vote that has cleaved the party's own leadership, alarmed Jewish communities across Britain, and prompted Israel to bar the party's leader from its borders. The decision reflects a recurring tension in democratic politics between the impulse to take moral stands on contested historical questions and the responsibility to protect the dignity and safety of minority communities at home. With Jewish members reporting fear and alienation, and cross-party condemnation arriving swiftly, the Greens now face a reckoning about what kind of party they wish to be — and at what cost.
At its Brighton conference on Sunday, the Green Party voted 1,022 to 813 to adopt a motion defining Zionism as an ethnonationalist ideology and endorsing the establishment of a single democratic Palestinian state across all of historic Palestine. The motion's sponsor, activist Lubna Speitan, framed it as opposition to racist systems of oppression. Within hours, Israel's foreign ministry declared the text antisemitic and banned party leader Zack Polanski from entering the country.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council issued a joint condemnation, arguing that Zionism represents a refuge for Jewish people after centuries of persecution and that labelling most British Jews and their institutions as racist inflames hatred at a moment when British Jews have already faced violence — synagogue murders, street stabbings, and firebombed community buildings.
Polanski had not voted on the motion, having left the conference early to campaign in a by-election. He had previously attempted to amend the text — seeking to remove the single-state language and to protect Jewish members who attend Zionist-identifying synagogues from internal discipline — but both amendments were rejected. He later signed a joint declaration with the party's MPs pledging the Greens would be anti-racist in every way, without explicitly stating his personal position on the motion itself.
The vote laid bare serious divisions at the top of the party. Four of five Green MPs opposed the motion before the vote, and former leader Caroline Lucas warned during debate against embracing its oversimplifications, noting that Jewish members already felt scared and unwelcome. Deputy leader Rachel Millward called the wording problematic, while deputy leader Mothin Ali backed it, insisting he was not calling all Zionist Jews racist. Vivien Lichtenstein, chairwoman of Jewish Greens, told the BBC she was considering her future in the party.
Condemnation arrived swiftly from across Westminster. Labour's Bridget Phillipson called the vote shameful and urged Polanski to reject it as future policy. Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp described the party as toxic to its core. Liberal Democrat Luke Taylor warned the motion would leave British Jews feeling less safe. The motion is now official Green Party policy, though it need not appear in the next manifesto — leaving the party to manage both the legal obligation to protect its Jewish members and the broader political consequences of a decision it cannot easily walk back.
At its conference in Brighton over the weekend, the Green Party voted to adopt a motion that would define Zionism as an ideology rooted in ethnonationalism—a decision that has fractured the party's leadership, drawn condemnation from Jewish organizations, and prompted Israel's foreign ministry to ban the party's leader from the country.
The motion passed on Sunday with 1,022 votes in favor and 813 against. It characterizes Zionism as supporting "an ethnonationalist Jewish state" and endorses the establishment of "a single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine." The text argues that the material reality of Zionism has involved "the historic and ongoing dehumanisation, displacement, dispossession, disenfranchisement and destruction of Palestinians." Lubna Speitan, the Green activist who brought the motion forward, framed it as opposition to "racist systems of oppression" and said supporters stood "united against all forms of racism and discrimination."
Israel's foreign ministry responded swiftly, declaring the motion "a clear antisemitic text" that falls outside the bounds of legitimate political debate and announcing it had banned Green Party leader Zack Polanski from entering the country. The Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council issued a joint statement calling the motion "an attack on the Jewish community." They argued that Zionism represents a refuge for Jewish people after centuries of persecution, and that branding most British Jews and their institutions as racist "stokes anti-Jewish hatred" at a time when British Jews have faced violence—murders at synagogues, street stabbings, and firebombed community buildings.
Polanski, who did not vote on the motion because he left the conference early to campaign in a parliamentary by-election, had previously sought to amend the text. He wanted the reference to a single Palestinian state removed, arguing the Green Party should not be deciding what a future settlement should look like. He also pushed for language clarifying that the motion should not be used to discipline Jewish members who attend synagogues identifying as Zionist. Both amendments were rejected by party members. In a statement issued after the vote, Polanski added his name to a joint declaration from the party's five MPs and deputy leaders pledging that the Greens would be "an anti-racist party in every way" and asserting there was "no conflict between supporting the rights of Palestinians and the rights of Jewish people." He has not explicitly stated whether he personally supports the motion that passed.
The vote has exposed deep fractures within the party's leadership. Four of the five Green MPs—Ellie Chowns, Adrian Ramsay, Carla Denyer, and Sian Berry—publicly opposed the motion before the vote. Denyer warned it could "alienate a significant proportion of Jewish people." Former party leader Caroline Lucas spoke against it during debate, urging members not to embrace "the over-simplification at the heart of this motion" and noting that many Jewish members felt "scared and unwelcome" in the party. Deputy leader Rachel Millward described the wording as "problematic." Yet deputy leader Mothin Ali backed the motion, framing it as a call for a state guaranteeing rights to all inhabitants and insisting he was "absolutely not" calling all Zionist Jews racist.
Vivien Lichtenstein, chairwoman of Jewish Greens, told the BBC after the vote that she was considering her future in the party. A Green Party spokeswoman stated the party would protect Jewish members and would not persecute those attending Zionist synagogues, though the damage to trust appeared already done.
The motion has become official party policy under Green Party rules, though it will not necessarily appear in the party's manifesto for the next general election. The vote drew swift condemnation from across the political spectrum. Labour chairwoman Bridget Phillipson said it "crosses a line" and called on Polanski to reject it as future party policy, describing it as shameful to vote against a two-state solution and to brand most British Jews as racist for supporting Israel's existence. Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp called the motion evidence the Green Party was "toxic to its core," arguing British Jews should not have to renounce belief in Jewish self-determination to be accepted by a British political party. Liberal Democrat MP Luke Taylor criticized the motion for ignoring rising threats of both Islamophobia and antisemitism in the UK, calling it divisive and likely to leave British Jews feeling less safe.
Citazioni salienti
Zionism is anti-racism, creating a refuge for Jews in their ancient homeland after millennia of persecution outside it. Branding most British Jews and Jewish institutions 'racist' stokes anti-Jewish hatred.— Board of Deputies of British Jews and Jewish Leadership Council
I urge you not to support the over-simplification at the heart of this motion—a refusal to accept complexities which is leading to so many Jewish members feeling scared and unwelcome in our party.— Former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas
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