The Green Party of England and Wales has adopted a controversial new policy on Israel and Palestine after members voted at the party's annual conference in Brighton.
The motion passed by 1,022 votes to 813, making it official party policy. It states that Zionism should be treated as a form of racism and calls for the creation of a single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine, with equal rights for all.
The decision has exposed divisions within the party. Several Green MPs and senior figures had expressed concerns about the motion before the vote, while supporters argued that it addresses what they describe as discrimination and the denial of Palestinian rights.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski did not take part in the vote, having left the conference to campaign in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election. Before the vote, he had supported amendments intended to change parts of the motion and provide additional protections for Jewish members. Those amendments were not adopted.
The party's adopted policy distinguishes between Judaism and Zionism, stating that not all Jewish people are Zionists and not all Zionists are Jewish. A Green Party spokesperson said the conference decision followed a “serious and deeply felt debate” among members.
The policy has drawn criticism from Jewish organisations and political figures, some of whom argue that defining Zionism as racism risks marginalising Jewish members who identify as Zionists. The Israeli government has also condemned the decision.
Supporters of the motion maintain that it is directed at a political ideology rather than at Jewish people as an ethnic or religious group. The party says the motion is a political policy decision and does not automatically create new disciplinary procedures for members.
The vote marks a significant change in the Green Party's formal position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The party's previous policy had allowed for either a one-state or two-state settlement if reached through a democratic process; the newly adopted motion specifically supports a single Palestinian state.