Green Party members endorse ‘Zionism is racism’ policy in split with MPs

Green Party members endorse ‘Zionism is racism’ policy in split with MPs Members at the Green Party conference backed the motion stating that Zionism, the movement to develop and protect a Jewish state in Israel, will be 'treated as any other form of racism' Green Party members have to voted to adopt a policy defining Zionism as racist in an explosive move that dismayed the party's MPs. Members at the Green Party conference in Brighton on Sunday backed the motion stating that Zionism, the movement to develop and protect a Jewish state in Israel, will be “treated as any other form of racism”. It supports the establishment of a “single democratic Palestinian State in all of historic Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital”. Members voted down attempts to add 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 move plunged the party into civil war, with all five Green MPs - Carla Denyer, Sian Berry, Adrian Ramsey, Ellie Chowns and Hannah Spencer - distancing themselves from it. In a statement, the MPs said: "As Green MPs, we will always uphold universal human rights. We will never tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment. We will continue to stand in opposition to genocide, ethnic cleansing, apartheid and the illegal occupation. "We will continue to call out the heinous crimes of the Netanyahu government. And we will continue to work to ensure that the Green Party is an anti-racist party in every way. We know there is no conflict between supporting the rights of Palestinians and the rights of Jewish people." Party leader Zack Polanski skipped the vote - which passed with 1,022 votes in favour and 813 against - after dashing back to London on Friday to campaign in this week's Holborn and St Pancras by-election. Jewish leaders accused party leadership of showing “a staggering indifference to the welfare of British Jews”. The chief executives of the Board of Deputies, Community Security Trust and Jewish Leadership Council wrote a letter to Green Party leaders ahead of the conference airing their concerns over the motion. “We also emphasised the implications for the safety and welfare of all British Jews, and our belief that this motion would make the Green Party the first electorally significant UK political party in living memory to adopt what appears to be an overtly antisemitic political platform,” they said. The position will become party policy but the Greens do not require all their politicians to back it. Party leader Mr Polanski said he believes that the “displacement and genocide of the Palestinian people” is “clearly racism” in an interview with the BBC earlier this week. But he said he wanted an amendment to call for one Palestinian state in the motion, “because what I want to see is equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians”. 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.” [Image text:] Against Genocide SUSSEX JEWISH WOMAN AND W ITH OALE STINE POLICE KB1A