Israel condemns UK Green Party's resolution defining Zionism as racism
Quick Look
- Israel and British Jewish groups condemned the UK Green Party's vote to define Zionism as a form of racism, with Israeli officials accusing the party of legitimizing terrorism and antisemitism.
- The Green Party, which received 6% of the vote in the 2024 UK general election, reaffirmed its support for Palestinian liberation, BDS, and an arms embargo against Israel, citing the Gaza war as context for the resolution passed by a vote of 1,022 to 813.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The UK Green Party, which received 6 percent of the vote in the 2024 UK general election, voted to define Zionism as a form of racism and reaffirmed its commitment to Palestinian liberation, the right of return, BDS, and a full arms embargo against Israel. The party cited the high casualty toll in Israel's war on Gaza as context for the vote.
Israel has reacted with anger after the United Kingdom’s Green Party voted to define Zionism as a form of racism.
Israel, as well as British Jewish groups, lashed out on Sunday following the vote by the small political party. The Israeli government declared that it now views the left-leaning Greens as giving “legitimacy to terrorism”.
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The Green Party, which received 6 percent of the vote in the UK’s national elections in 2024, said it regarded Zionism as “an ethnonationalist political project” and repeated its call for Britain’s Labour government to end all arms trade with Israel.
In a swift response, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the policy went “far beyond the boundaries of legitimate political debate” and called on other British political parties to condemn the resolution.
“The Greens have adopted not only the green of Hamas, but also its ideology: the elimination of the State of Israel through armed struggle,” the ministry wrote on social media.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog labelled the move “a disgrace and a shame”. Writing on social media, he said: “Those who claim the antisemitic lie that ‘Zionism is racism’ deliberately endanger Jews and Israelis everywhere.”
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said it is “not Zionism that’s racism, it is the Green Party”.
The Movement for Progressive Judaism, a British group, said: “The Green Party has made antisemitism party policy and become a racist party”.
It added that the support of some Jews for the motion did not mean it would not be used to discriminate against others.
During the vote, the Green Party also reaffirmed its “commitment to Palestinian liberation, the right of return, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), and a full arms embargo against Israel”.
It also reiterated support for “the establishment of a single democratic state throughout historic Palestine”, the party said in a statement.
The motion was backed by a majority of 1,022 to 813. Party leader Zack Polanski, who is running for Parliament in former Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s London constituency, did not vote.
In an interview with UK media outlet Sky News, the Greens’ co-deputy leader Mothin Ali said that the heavy casualty toll during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and its ongoing attacks were the context for the vote.
The Green Party has five sitting members in the UK’s 650-seat parliament.
Following the passage of the resolution, Polanski and other Green Party members said in a joint statement they would “continue to stand in opposition to genocide, ethnic cleansing, apartheid and the illegal occupation” and “call out the heinous crimes of the Netanyahu government”.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The UK Labour government will face increasing pressure to clarify its position on Zionism and antisemitism following the Green Party's resolution.
Likely · Within weeks
Israeli diplomatic efforts will focus on convincing other UK political parties to reject the Green Party's definition of Zionism as racism.
Very likely · Within days
Open Questions
- Will other UK political parties formally condemn the Green Party's resolution?
- Could this resolution lead to changes in UK arms export policy toward Israel?
- How will this affect Jewish communities in the UK and their relationship with the Green Party?
- Is there a risk of increased antisemitic incidents linked to this political development?
