Zack Polanski banned from Israel after Green Party ‘Zionism is racism’ policy

Green Party leader Zack Polanski has been barred from entering Israel after members of his party voted to define Zionism as racist.

Mr Polanski did not take part in the vote on the motion, having left the party conference to campaign in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.

Israel accused the Green Party of legitimising “the destruction of the State of Israel” with a “clear antisemitic text”.

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Greens’ resolution “constitutes a clear antisemitic text according to the IHRA definition, as it denies the Jewish people’s right to self-determination”.

“Therefore, as a first step, foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar has decided this evening to declare Green Party leader Zack Polanski barred from entering Israel,” a statement said.

“Today, the Green Party in Britain adopted a resolution equating Zionism with racism, legitimising armed struggle against Israel, and calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state “from the river to the sea” – meaning the destruction of the State of Israel,” it added.

In a statement with Green MPs and his deputies, Mr Polanski said there is “no conflict between supporting the rights of Palestinians and the rights of Jewish people”.

Members in Brighton backed the motion with 1,022 votes in favour and 813 against.

It declares the Greens to be an “anti-Zionist party” and sets into its policy that Zionism, the movement to develop and protect a Jewish state in Israel, will be “treated as any other form of racism”.

It also supports the establishment of a “single democratic Palestinian State in all of historic Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital”.

Supporters chanted “say it loud, say it clear, Zionists are not welcome here” as the campaigners behind the motion, Greens for Palestine, gathered to speak to the media.

Asked if the new stance meant Zionists would be kicked out of the party, former councillor Salma Yaqoob said “absolutely not”.

“We’re saying that if you want to champion Zionism, it will be called out as racism.

“But, no, this is not a disciplinary issue. Nobody will be removed, challenged, disciplined, suspended because they put forward or articulate their belief in Zionism.”

This type of motion does not have a “material impact on governance or disciplinary procedures”, a Green Party spokesperson said.

“This has been a serious and deeply felt debate within our membership. Our members value the ability to bring forward and decide party policy, and conference has now made its decision.

“The Green Party is an anti-racist party and has consistently opposed the illegal occupation of both Palestinian and Syrian land, called for an end to arms sales to the Israeli government and spoken out fearlessly about the devastating situation in Gaza and the West Bank.

“Those positions remain central to our approach. So too does our deeply-held commitment to equality, justice and human rights for all, and opposition to racism in all its forms.”

The members voted against adding a clause to make clear the motion should not be used to “pressure, proscribe or discipline” party members for their affiliation to synagogues or other Jewish groups that describe themselves as Zionist.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the Greens have become “an extremist party”.

“The motion passed by the Green Party today is an attack on the Jewish community,” a statement said.

“It is an antisemitic platform, based on a grossly offensive distortion and erasure of Jewish experience and identity. Zionism is anti-racism, creating a refuge for Jews in their ancient homeland after millennia of persecution outside it.

“Branding most British Jews and Jewish institutions ‘racist’ stokes anti-Jewish hatred after a year in which British Jews have been murdered attending their synagogue, stabbed in the streets, and seen their community buildings firebombed.

“With this motion the Green Party has departed far from international consensus and exposed itself as an extremist party. We stand with Jewish Greens, whose concerns have been rejected in the most callous way.

“We welcome the cross-party condemnation and call on wider civil society to now relate to the Green Party for what it has become: an extremist party with a platform of anti-Jewish racism.”