Green Party Votes to Define Zionism as Racism

The Green Party of England and Wales voted at its annual conference in Brighton to adopt a policy defining Zionism as racism. The motion, proposed by the group Greens for Palestine, passed 1,022 to 813. The new policy characterizes Zionism as a movement that privileges one ethnic group through the subjugation of others and calls for the replacement of Israel with a single Palestinian state providing equal rights for all.

The vote caused deep internal divisions. Four of the party's five MPs, including Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay, and former leader Caroline Lucas condemned the motion, warning it would alienate Jewish people and distract from material actions to support Palestinians. Party leader Zack Polanski, who is Jewish, identified as an anti-Zionist and defended the motion's logic by citing the death toll in Gaza, though he did not cast a vote due to by-election campaigning.

External reactions were sharply critical. The Israeli Foreign Ministry stated the party had turned into a "terror-supporting entity," while the Movement for Progressive Judaism claimed the party had made antisemitism official policy. The World Zionist Organization characterized the resolution as a recycling of modern blood libels. During the conference, some members reported the use of designated safe-rooms for Jewish attendees.