{"id":636167,"date":"2026-10-04T14:36:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T14:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/636167\/"},"modified":"2026-10-04T14:36:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T14:36:11","slug":"uk-greens-vote-on-motion-critics-say-backs-israels-destruction-jewish-leader-to-abs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/636167\/","title":{"rendered":"UK Greens vote on motion critics say backs Israel\u2019s destruction; Jewish leader to abs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Britain\u2019s Green Party convened Sunday to vote on a highly contentious motion that would define Zionism as a form of racism and call for the creation of a single Palestinian state across all of what it describes as \u201chistoric Palestine,\u201d wording critics say would effectively mean the end of Israel as a Jewish state.<\/p>\n

The motion has proved too far-reaching even for some of the party\u2019s most outspoken critics of Israel, including Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who is Jewish and describes himself as anti-Zionist. Polanski is expected to abstain.<\/p>\n

\"\u05d1\u05e8\u05d9\u05d8\u05e0\u05d9\u05d4<\/a>\"\u05d1\u05e8\u05d9\u05d8\u05e0\u05d9\u05d4<\/p>\n

Green Party leader Zack Polanski, a Jewish anti-Zionist, recognizes Israelis\u2019 and Palestinians\u2019 right to exist but stops short of recognizing Israel\u2019s right to exist <\/p>\n

(Photo: Alishia Abodunde\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The vote is taking place at the party\u2019s annual conference in Brighton, against the backdrop of the Greens\u2019 sharp rise in British opinion polls in recent years. Once a marginal political force, the party now ranks fourth or fifth in several recent surveys.<\/p>\n

The proposal would add to official Green Party policy the position that Zionism is a form of racism because it supports what the motion calls an \u201cethno-national Jewish state.\u201d<\/p>\n

British media noted that, if approved, the measure could make the Greens the only mainstream European political party to define itself explicitly as anti-Zionist.<\/p>\n

The motion also calls for the establishment of \u201cone democratic Palestinian state across all of historic Palestine, with Jerusalem as its capital\u201d and demands sweeping boycotts and sanctions against Israel similar to those imposed on apartheid-era South Africa.<\/p>\n

It argues that \u201cZionism has created, and seeks to maintain and, where possible, expand, a system of apartheid between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\u05d1\u05e8\u05d9\u05d8\u05e0\u05d9\u05d4<\/a>\"\u05d1\u05e8\u05d9\u05d8\u05e0\u05d9\u05d4<\/p>\n

Pro-Palestinian protesters outside the Green Party conference in Brighton yesterday, where a \u2018safe room\u2019 was set aside for Jewish members <\/p>\n

(Photo: Alishia Abodunde\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Green Party deputy leader Mothin Ali, who has become one of the party\u2019s most prominent anti-Israel voices over the past year, became the most senior party figure to endorse the motion.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the BBC on Saturday, Ali said he supported it \u201cabsolutely,\u201d arguing that it addressed \u201cethnic cleansing and ethno-nationalism.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone who believes in that, I think, believes in a racist ideology,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Sky News, Ali added: \u201cThe ultimate form of racism is genocide, and therefore anyone who believes in carrying out genocide against human beings simply so that they themselves can live freely, that is racism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Polanski, meanwhile, said he plans to abstain from the vote but again declined in a BBC interview to say whether Israel has a right to exist.<\/p>\n

Asked whether the call for a single Palestinian state amounted in practice to a demand for the elimination of Israel, Polanski said that was precisely why he wanted the motion amended.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I want to see is equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think we, as the Green Party of England and Wales, or even the British government, should determine what a future settlement looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pressed on whether Israel has a right to exist, he replied: \u201cI believe human beings have a right to exist. Israelis have a right to exist, and Palestinians have a right to exist. I think our job as political parties is to protect the rights of human beings, not to protect the rights of states.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\u05d1\u05e8\u05d9\u05d8\u05e0\u05d9\u05d4<\/a>\"\u05d1\u05e8\u05d9\u05d8\u05e0\u05d9\u05d4<\/p>\n

Green Party deputy leader Mothin Ali: \u2018Ethno-nationalism is a racist ideology\u2019 <\/p>\n

(Photo: Alishia Abodunde\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The Daily Mail, a right-leaning British tabloid frequently critical of the radical left, noted that three former Green leaders, Caroline Lucas, Adrian Ramsay and Carla Denyer, had publicly opposed the motion.<\/p>\n

Lucas, who in 2010 became Britain\u2019s first Green member of Parliament, said she would not support it because of the risk that it would deepen divisions and be seen as signaling that Jews were not welcome in the party.<\/p>\n

Denyer wrote on social media that adopting the proposal could \u201cset us back\u201d in efforts to support Palestinians and could alienate a large part of Britain\u2019s Jewish community, including people who strongly oppose the Israeli government, support the BDS movement and advocate for Palestinian rights.<\/p>\n

Amid claims that the issue was tearing the party apart, Polanski told the BBC that the Greens were \u201ccompletely united\u201d on the Palestinian issue.<\/p>\n

\"\u05d1\u05e8\u05d9\u05d8\u05e0\u05d9\u05d4<\/a>\"\u05d1\u05e8\u05d9\u05d8\u05e0\u05d9\u05d4<\/p>\n

Pro-Israel supporters near the conference venue yesterday. Organizers prepared for threats against Jewish members: \u2018We\u2019ve never encountered a situation like this\u2019 <\/p>\n

(Photo: Alishia Abodunde\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

He cited Palestinian casualty figures in Gaza and said the party agreed on the need to \u201cstop the genocide\u201d and halt British arms sales to Israel.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s Green Party conference includes a series of events focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.<\/p>\n

Among them was a panel titled \u201cPalestine: The Golden Thread That Unravelled Britain,\u201d moderated by an activist who took part in a Gaza flotilla and was detained by Israeli forces, as well as an event titled \u201cJustice for Palestine\u201d and a discussion on claims of Israeli \u201csportswashing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel demonstrations were also held outside the conference venue.<\/p>\n

The Daily Mail reported Sunday that, amid tensions inside the party, conference organizers had designated a \u201csafe room\u201d for Jewish members who might feel threatened.<\/p>\n

A Jewish party member described the situation as \u201cdisturbing and deeply upsetting, but this is the reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

A senior Jewish figure in the party said: \u201cI\u2019ve been a member of the Green Party for years, but never, ever, have Jewish Greens had to endure a situation like this.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Britain\u2019s Green Party convened Sunday to vote on a highly contentious motion that would define Zionism as a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":636168,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":["post-636167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=636167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636167\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/636168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=636167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=636167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=636167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}