UK Green Party votes to define Zionism as racism

Brighton: The UK Green Party has voted to define Zionism as racism, adopting a policy that calls for a single democratic Palestinian state across historic Palestine.

The motion was approved by 1,022 votes to 813 at the party's annual conference in Brighton on Sunday. It describes Zionism as an ethnonationalist political project and says it should be treated like other forms of racism.

The decision has caused divisions within the party and drawn strong criticism from Jewish organisations, the Labour Party and the Israeli government. Several of the Greens' five MPs opposed the motion, while party leader Zack Polanski did not take part in the vote, as he was campaigning in a parliamentary by-election.

The Green Party said the debate had been serious and strongly felt among its members. It maintained that its policy was directed at Zionism as a political ideology and not at Jews or Judaism.

Jewish groups including the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council had warned before the vote that the policy could affect the safety and wellbeing of British Jews. Some Jewish members of the Green Party have also expressed concern about the impact of the new policy.

Israel strongly condemned the decision. Its Foreign Ministry described the motion as antisemitic and said Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar had barred Polanski from entering Israel. President Isaac Herzog also criticised the vote.

The motion also calls for Palestinian liberation, the right of return and an end to British arms sales to Israel. The Green Party has said its position is part of its wider opposition to the Israeli occupation and its support for Palestinian rights.