UK Green Party Calls Zionism ‘Racism’, Sparks Israeli Outrage
The United Kingdom’s Green Party has formally called Zionism a form of racism. This decision has caused strong anger in Israel. Many British Jewish groups also reacted with anger on Sunday.
Israel’s government now sees the Green Party as giving “legitimacy to terrorism.” Israel’s President, Isaac Herzog, called the move “a disgrace and a shame.” He said claiming “Zionism is racism” endangers Jewish and Israeli people everywhere. He called this claim an “antisemitic lie.”
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Green Party’s new policy went “far beyond normal political debate.” The ministry asked other British political parties to speak against the resolution. It also said the Green Party had adopted the “ideology” of Hamas. This ideology includes ending the State of Israel through fighting, the ministry added.
Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, also spoke out. He said the Green Party itself was racist, not Zionism. The Movement for Progressive Judaism, a British group, said the Green Party had made “antisemitism” part of its official policy. It called the party a “racist party.”
The Green Party stated that it sees Zionism as an “ethnonationalist political project.” The party repeated its demand for Britain’s Labour government to stop selling weapons to Israel.
During the vote, the Green Party also supported several other ideas. It backed Palestinian liberation and the right of return for Palestinians. The party also supported Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel. It called for a complete ban on arms sales to Israel.
The Green Party further supported creating one democratic state across historic Palestine. The vote passed with 1,022 members in favor and 813 against. Zack Polanski, the party leader, did not cast a vote.
Mothin Ali, a co-deputy leader for the Greens, explained the vote. He told a UK news outlet that many people have died in Gaza. Israel’s ongoing attacks there led to the vote, he said.
The Green Party is a small political group in the UK. It received 6 percent of the votes in the 2024 national elections. It has five members in the UK’s 650-seat parliament.
After the vote, Mr. Polanski and other Green Party members issued a statement. They said they would continue to oppose actions like genocide, ethnic cleansing, and illegal occupation. They also promised to speak out against actions by the Netanyahu government.
