The British Green Party classifies Zionism as a form of racism, amid angry reactions

During its annual conference on Sunday (October 5, 2026), the left-leaning British Green Party classified Zionism as a “form of racism,” in a move that sparked angry reactions from British Jewish groups and the Israeli government.

The classification came after 1,022 members voted in favor of it and 813 members opposed it.

The resolution that was put to the referendum stipulated that Zionism would be treated “like any other form of racism,” and that the party would support the establishment of “a single democratic Palestinian state on the entirety of historic Palestine.”

Before the vote, three organizations representing the Jewish community said in a letter to the party, “Approval of this proposal would make the Green Party the first British political party with electoral weight to approve, in contemporary memory, a political program that appears to include explicitly anti-Semitic positions.” It warned of the “repercussions this could have on the security and safety of all British Jews.”

The Israeli President: A disgrace

Immediately after the announcement of the vote result, Israeli President Isaac Herzog considered the party's decision a "disgrace." He wrote in his post on the X platform: “Zionism is the national liberation movement of the Jewish people, and it forms the basis for the right of the Jewish people to establish a state and a national homeland in the Land of Israel.”

In the same context, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it was a “clearly anti-Semitic text,” announcing on X that the head of the British Green Party, Zach Polanski, was “banned” from entering Israel.

While the Progressive Judaism Movement accused the Green Party of “making anti-Semitism a policy” and that it “has become a racist party,” adding that the support of some Jews for the proposal does not mean that it will not be used to discriminate against others.

On the other hand, and despite the opposition of at least three of the party’s five deputies to the draft resolution, Polanski said earlier this week that “the displacement and genocide of the Palestinian people” constitutes “clearly racism.”

It is noteworthy that the definition of Zionism, which was a source of inspiration for the founding of the modern State of Israel in the twentieth century, and its implications for the rights of non-Jews in Israel and neighboring territories, is a matter of controversy. Zionist Jewish groups sometimes define the term as the right of Jews to self-determination.