Zack Polanski was booed at a London hustings after telling British Jews that Zionism is “racism in practice” and accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
The Green Party leader, who is Jewish, described himself as an “anti-Zionist” during the event for candidates contesting the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, which is less than two weeks away.
Mr Polanski argued that accusing people who condemn Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, launched after the October 7 terror attacks, of antisemitism makes Jewish people less safe.
His comments come as Green Party hardliners seek to alter party policy in favour of dismantling Israel and establishing a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
Organised by the London Jewish Forum and the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the hustings became heated when Mr Polanski said Zionism “relies on the displacement and genocide of the Palestinian people”.
Asked whether he considered Zionism a form of racism, as some members of his party do, he replied: “I think there’s a problem with definitions. It means different things to different people.”
“If you’re defining Zionism as a displacement genocide, which is how, in practice, Zionism has become, then that is racism.”
The Jewish Green Party leader identified himself as an “anti-Zionist” at a Holborn and St Pancras by-election hustings, with polling due in less than two weeks
The remarks come as Green Party hardliners push for a policy shift supporting Israel’s destruction and a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital
The Reform candidate, however, received applause after saying Britain had failed to take antisemitism seriously and had placed “an over-focus on events in Israel, as if that’s the only thing that matters in the world”.
According to Jewish News, Tory candidate Ewan Cameron was also supported after warning: “We need to be accountable for the words we use. I just heard Mr Polanski referring to apartheid and genocide.
“These are explosive words. People then take those words and interpret them as statements of fact.
“Presenting one side as entirely good and the other as entirely bad only deepens polarisation. If you genuinely want to discuss international affairs, you must set out the context — including Hamas, the complexities of the Palestinian situation, Gaza’s history, democratic realities and Israel’s position after the October 7 attacks.
“Without that context, sound bites can fuel antisemitic behaviour and reactions.”
Mr Polanski is also facing another effort by hardline pro-Palestinian figures within the party to pass a conference motion next week titled “Zionism is Racism”. The proposal calls for “a single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital”.
The motion was written by a London-based artist who has said Hamas should not be classified as a terrorist organisation. It also calls for Israel to be treated in the same way as apartheid-era South Africa.
It advocates wide-ranging boycotts and sanctions, arguing that “Zionism has created and seeks to maintain — and where possible — expand, an apartheid regime between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea”.
In a pamphlet published alongside the motion, author Lubna Speitan called for “an end to this racism and the monstrous State that has been built upon it”, ending with the slogan “Free Palestine, from the river to the sea” — a phrase critics have described as antisemitic.
In an interview last week, Mr Polanski — who is standing for election to the Commons the week after the conference — indicated that he would not support the motion in its current form. He described it as a “distraction” that was “not going to help”.
