Polanski says he will not overturn Green Party’s Zionism motion

Green Party leader Zack Polanski says he will not overturn a party motion declaring Zionism racist, though he wants to amend it when party rules next allow, in 2028.

In an interview on BBC One’s Sunday programme with Laura Kuenssberg, Polanski said the motion would remain party policy until then. He said he wanted to move away from a position favouring one state and towards letting Israelis and Palestinians decide their future. [1]

The motion, passed at the party conference earlier this month by 1,022 votes to 813, described Zionism as an ideology supporting “an ethnonationalist Jewish state in historic Palestine to the exclusion and/or domination of the non-Jewish population”. The vote involved only a small fraction of the party’s 230,000 members, according to the BBC. [1]

Polanski said he respected the members’ decision and would not change the rules to overturn it. He had previously said he would not have supported the motion without amendments. [1]

The motion divided the party and drew criticism from MPs, Jewish campaigners, the government and the European Green movement. Green MPs, including Ellie Chowns, have called for a review of the party’s member-led decision-making procedures because of the low turnout. [1]