The UK Green Party has adopted a policy declaring “Zionism is Racism,” positioning it among Europe’s first openly anti-Israel political parties.
The far-left socialist party, which began as an environmental movement, approved the amendment by 1,022 votes to 813 at its conference in Brighton, UK. Delegates also rejected a separate amendment that would have protected members from disciplinary action based on their affiliation with Jewish community institutions.
The motion stated that Zionism “privileges one ethnic group on the basis of the subjugation of others.” It emphasized that the policy targeted “the political ideology and practice of Zionism” as defined in the motion, rather than the religious or ethnic identity of people who identify as Zionists.
“Not all Jews are Zionists and not all Zionists are Jews,” the motion continued. It added that Zionism, as defined in the document, would be treated like any other form of racism, with implementation overseen by the party’s anti-racism policy working group under its standard procedures.
The motion also called for the liberation of the Palestinian people and the creation of a “single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine, with Jerusalem as its capital.”
Although the UK Green Party is considerably smaller than the Conservatives or Labour, it has four Members of Parliament and two members of the House of Lords.
Such a proposal would end Israel’s status as a Jewish state.
The motion recognized Zionism as Israel’s foundational ideology. Zionism is generally defined as the belief that the Jewish people should have sovereignty in their historic homeland, Israel.
Anti-Israel groups have focused on the treatment of Palestinians in the region following the return of large numbers of Jews.
The motion was originally expected to go to a vote in the spring, but procedural delays postponed the decision.
The controversial proposal caused divisions among Jewish members of the UK Green Party. According to the Daily Mail, party officials provided a designated safe room for Jewish members who felt threatened during the conference.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski did not attend the vote because he was taking part in a campaign event connected to the following week’s by-election.
“This is a very sad day for the Green Party. I am deeply ashamed and horrified at what the party has become,” former UK Green Party deputy leader Shahrar Ali told the Daily Mail.
“Making Zionism is Racism our official party policy has made us the first openly anti-Semitic party in the UK. That conclusion is inescapable,” Ali said.
Ali also warned that the motion’s call to restore “historic Palestine” amounted to a demand for Israel’s abolition. “The motion calling for the creation of a single state of Palestine requires the extinction of the state of Israel,” he said.
“We’re not talking about 1967 borders here as a baseline for a two-state solution but the total obliteration of the state of Israel as a political entity,” he added.
