UK Greens to vote on motion declaring ‘Zionism is Racism,’ calling to dismantle Israel

The UK’s far-left Green Party is expected to vote Sunday on a controversial “Zionism is Racism” motion that effectively calls for Israel to be erased as a Jewish state.

The vote is set to take place during the party’s ongoing twice-annual conference currently underway in Brighton, defining the party’s official policy on Israel, with former party leaders calling the motion “divisive” and “wrong.”

The measure describes Zionism, which is broadly defined as support for Jewish national self-determination in the land of Israel, as support for “an ethnonationalist Jewish State” and proposes that the party should commit to supporting a “single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine.”

On Friday, during his address at the conference, Green Party leader Zack Polanski  — who is Jewish — claimed credit for pushing the ruling Labour party further to the left and the decision to impose sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Polanski also called for charges to be dropped against people belonging to the Palestine Action group, which was banned as a terrorist group after a break-in at the Royal Air Force’s Brize Norton base in June 2025, in which activists damaged two military planes.

“We stand with one voice now as we say: Drop the charges. End the Genocide. Deproscribe Palestine Action,” he said.

However, the speech did not address the anti-Zionism motion. But he later told the BBC he would back the motion only if it were changed, including by allowing for the possibility of a two-state solution.

He also wants the proposal amended to ensure that it does not discriminate against Jewish party members who belong to Zionist synagogues.

Asked by the BBC if the motion was calling for the destruction of Israel, Polanski seemed to agree, saying “That’s why I’m calling for an amendment.”

Polanski said he wanted an amendment supporting  a “lasting settlement granting equal rights for all” to be “shaped and determined by Palestinians themselves.”

“I don’t believe we as a Green Party of England and Wales or even the British government should be deciding what the future settlement looks like,” he said.

Polanski, however, shied away from explicitly saying that Israel has a right to exist, saying only that “I believe people have a right to exist.”

Pressed again, he said: “Both Israelis have a right to exist and Palestinians have a right to exist.”

Polanski also told the BBC he wanted to focus on what the party could “materially do to make a difference,” saying they would campaign to end arms sales to Israel and intelligence sharing.

Also asked if he believed that Zionism was racism, Polanski said it depended on how the term was defined.

“If your Zionism is the displacement of the Palestinian people then that is clearly racist, and I say that as a Jewish leader of a British political party,” he said.

Polanski has made anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian politics a centerpiece of his party’s platform. He’s been focusing on his campaign ahead of a parliamentary by-election on October 8 for an open seat vacated by Keir Starmer, the former Labour prime minister, when he resigned on September 1.

The move sparked opposition from former party leaders.

“I think there is no single definition of Zionism and, irrespective of the intentions of those who put that motion, I think there is a real risk that it will be divisive and could be seen as a sign that Jewish people aren’t welcome in the party,” former leader Caroline Lucas told the BBC.

The Guardian reported on Thursday that Lubna Speitan, who co-authored the motion, had rejected the amendments.

The paper also reported that Speitan was a member of a group called Greens for Palestine, which was not formally affiliated with the party. Nevertheless, the group has been campaigning in recent months to get its members to join the Green Party, specifically to get the motion passed.

According to The Guardian, Speitan and Greens for Palestine have links to a group called the more radical Anti-Zionist Movement (AZM), a more militant group that calls for the “so-called Jewish state” to be dismantled, along with “Zionist organisations” in the UK and elsewhere.

Jewish members of the Green Party, who refer to themselves as Jewish Greens, said that they would not be taking a stance on the vote, releasing the results of a survey taken among Jewish party members that found about half feared that if it passed, it could increase discrimination against Jewish members.

“A question as to whether the passing of the motion could make discrimination against Jews within the Green Party more likely revealed a clear divide in opinion, with 53% of respondents agreeing and 47% disagreeing with this statement,” the survey found.

It found that the majority of the more than 100 members polled described themselves as anti-Zionist, but noted that some 20% were Zionist.

According to The Guardian, Jewish members of the Green Party have said privately they may not be able to remain in the party if the motion passes.

Polanski is the most prominent Jewish critic of Israel in mainstream UK politics. He has called to end all arms sales, trade and diplomatic ties with Israel, and decried Starmer for complicity in what he says is “the very obvious genocide in Gaza.”

Israel vociferously denies charges of genocide in the Gaza war that was sparked by the October 7, 2023, with the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel.

Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.

The UK has seen a significant rise in antisemitism since the outbreak of the war and also of anti-Israel activity.

On Friday, London’s Metropolitan Police called on a group of anti-Israel activists not to hold a demonstration in the city on Wednesday, the third anniversary of the October 7 onslaught.

The Met has urged a group of students planning to march on Wednesday, 7 October – the anniversary of the terror attack on Israel – to hold their protest on a different day.

????l https://t.co/5ZQbFcl33u pic.twitter.com/X71AmKQYMa

— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) October 2, 2026

“For many in our city, this will be a day of mourning, a day of reflection, and we are aware of a number of vigil events being planned,” Deputy Assistant Commissioner James Harman told a press briefing. “Serious concerns have been expressed about the impact of this march on students and staff, particularly those who are Jewish, the route, and the day it is being held.

“Please reflect on the impact and distress it will cause on this very significant day, and exercise your right to protest on a different date,” he said.