Writing for the Guardian<\/a> after his defeat in the Holborn and St Pancras byelection, Polanski suggests the party\u2019s focus on defining Zionism has been misguided, even though he agrees with the substance of the motion.<\/p>\n Appearing to accept criticisms of his leadership over the issue, he admits his priority was \u201cfighting a hugely consequential byelection for our party\u201d and accepts that his own colleagues and members may feel \u201clet down\u201d by his decision to not make an intervention last week.<\/p>\n He adds: \u201cI put all my energy into the race in Holborn and St Pancras, despite Labour choosing the polling date so close to our conference, because I know that ultimately electoral success is how we drive change. I know, though, that some feel let down by that decision \u2013 and I hear that.\u201d<\/p>\n Polanski says the party\u2019s rapid growth means its democratic structures need to change, including giving leaders more responsibility for setting its political direction.<\/p>\n \u201cOur party democracy must now evolve to meet that \u2013 creating wider engagement for members, giving leaders more responsibility to set the party\u2019s strategic direction, and making our processes as robust and accessible as possible,\u201d he writes.<\/p>\n His intervention marks the clearest indication yet that he believes the party\u2019s internal structures need reform, after senior Greens raised concerns that its system of policymaking gives disproportionate influence to a small minority of members.<\/p>\n Under the Greens\u2019 existing rules, policy is decided by members at party conference rather than by its leadership, a system that has increasingly come under scrutiny as membership surged.<\/p>\n The controversy intensified last weekend when 1,022 members representing about 0.4% of the party\u2019s total membership voted in favour of a motion declaring Zionism a form of racism and backing a single Palestinian state.<\/p>\n The motion, which passed by 1,022 votes to 813, was opposed by four of the party\u2019s five MPs and prompted criticism from the European Green party, whose position supports a two-state solution.<\/p>\n Ellie Chowns, the Greens\u2019 Westminster leader, said the party must not become vulnerable to capture by extremists and racists<\/a>, arguing the vote demonstrated the urgent need to modernise its policymaking structures.<\/p>\n Polanski, who is Jewish and grew up in a Zionist household, writes: \u201cIt has been difficult knowing how to approach this imperfect motion, because its substance chimes with my understanding of Zionism as the ideology that underpins the displacement and genocide of Palestinians.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is something I share with many other Jewish people, including Stephen Kapos, the Holocaust survivor who was one of those supporting the motion.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the same time, Zionism is not easily defined, and I know for many Jewish people it is bound up with identity, safety and belonging<\/a>. In my view it\u2019s not the job of a political party to tell people what to believe \u2013 and a narrow focus on definitions is neither desirable nor strategic.<\/p>\n![\"Did](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/761.jpg\")
Did the Zionism row lose it for Zack Polanski? | Politics Weekly<\/p>\n