Key facts
- Green Party leader Zack Polanski will remain leader despite internal and external criticism over a motion declaring Zionism a form of racism.
- Polanski missed the vote on the motion, citing by-election campaigning, but later stated the 'displacement and genocide of the Palestinian people' is 'racist ideology'.
- The motion passed by party members defined Zionism as supporting an ethnonationalist Jewish state and called for a single democratic Palestinian state.
- Criticism of Polanski's leadership and the motion came from within the party, including the Jewish Greens and former leader Caroline Lucas.
- The motion has drawn criticism from the Jewish Leadership Council and the Board of Deputies of British Jews.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski is facing a leadership challenge following a by-election loss and mounting criticism over a party motion that declared Zionism a form of racism. Polanski, who is Jewish, missed the vote on the motion, which defined Zionism as supporting an ethnonationalist Jewish state and advocated for a single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine, stating he was campaigning in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.
Internal dissent has emerged, with Vivien Lichtenstein, leader of the Jewish Greens, calling for Polanski's resignation and describing his absence from the debate as a "big mistake." Former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas also criticized Polanski for failing to show leadership on the issue, though she did not demand he step down. Jonathan Bartley, another former co-leader, urged Polanski to apologize for a "failure of leadership."
Despite the pressure, Polanski has vowed to remain leader, stating that "our movement is so much bigger than one election or one motion." He defended his absence by citing his campaign duties and acknowledged that the "displacement and genocide of the Palestinian people" is "clearly underpinned by a racist ideology." He also stated that anti-Zionism and antisemitism are distinct and that no one will be excluded from the party based on their faith.
The motion has drawn criticism from the Jewish Leadership Council and the Board of Deputies of British Jews. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has also called on Polanski to reverse the "completely wrong" motion.