Greens adopt policy treating Zionism as racism

[Twiglets1]

The Greens have formally adopted a policy which equates Zionism with racism, a move that will dismay the bulk of the party’s MPs and has alarmed some Jewish members.

In a vote on Sunday at the party’s annual conference in Brighton about whether to back a motion which calls for Zionism, the movement for a Jewish state, to be “treated as any other form of racism”, it passed by 1,022 votes to 813.

The motion, which is now formal policy for the Greens in England and Wales, also calls for a single Palestinian state in place of Israel “with equal rights for all”.

Four of the party’s five MPs have condemned the motion, as did Caroline Lucas, the former leader who was the Greens’ first MP.

Adrian Ramsay, who co-led the Greens before Polanski, said in a statement he would vote against it, as it set out what sort of Palestinian state should exist without taking into account the self-determination of Israelis and Palestinians.

Siân Berry, another of the MPs, made the same point.

Carla Denyer, the Bristol Central MP who was co-leader with Ramsay, said the wording “risks alienating a significant proportion of Jewish people, including those who vehemently disagree with the Israeli government”.

Another Green MP, Ellie Chowns, said the motion “risks fuelling division, and risks undermining the party’s ability to advocate effectively for justice and peace”.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/oct/04/green-party-votes-adopt-policy-zionism-racism

Maybe, or she's just going along with the herd mentality of the other people she mixes with. We are tribal by nature so a lot of people do this. They think they're being virtuous because in their eyes they're fighting oppression.

In an interesting development, it turns out that Lubna Speitan who was the one who proposed the vote at the conference is extremely good friends with an actual terrorist and was going to testify in his favour at his trial.

"It can now be revealed that Ms Speitan offered to testify in the defence of Minh Quang Pham, jailed in the US for a plot to detonate a backpack filled with shrapnel dipped in rat poison in the airport arrivals lounge.

Court documents from 2015 described them as “close friends”. Asked by The Telegraph whether they remained friends, Ms Speitan said: “Yes, it’s still the case.”
“What was, hasn’t changed,” she said, adding that she believed he had been “targeted” by “the system

...The Vietnam-born terrorist, whose family were granted asylum in the UK in 1989, planned to target travellers returning from Israel or the US in his Heathrow backpack bomb plot.
The attack could have killed “hundreds of people”, according to US prosecutors. It was thwarted after an armour-piercing bullet was found in Pham’s luggage upon his return, in July 2011, to the UK from Yemen, where he had joined al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
When asked about her relationship with Pham, Ms Speitan first described the question as “insulting” and said it had “no relation to the work that I’m doing”.
She described The Telegraph’s approach as part of “mainstream media” attacks that aimed to “demonise” Palestinians, before suggesting Pham had been wrongfully accused."

(he wasn't wrongfully accused, he confessed, and there was lots of evidence of him planning the attack).

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/10/06/green-behind-zionism-racism-vote-friends-al-qaeda-terrorist/

That's crazy. What the hell's happened to the Green Party?

In a statement last night, Polanski said: "Antisemitism and criticism of the Israeli state are, and must always be, completely distinct – blurring the line between the two is not only wrong but antisemitic, and makes Jewish people less safe.

"It's our role as a movement for justice to protect both the rights of Palestinians and our Jewish communities here in the UK.
So how come if criticism of the Israeli state is not anti Semitic has his party not called for the elimination of any other country with an objectionable government? At least Israel is a democracy so Netenyahu and his cronies can be removed. How about calling for an Iraqi state that covers the whole of Iran? A Canadian state that covers the whole of the US? He and his party are the ones conflating legitimate criticism of a government with all Jewish people, hence punishment for all Jews whether Israeli or not and whether they support the Israeli government or not. What's he going to do about it if people intimidate Jewish Greens? They won't be acting against the party policy.

I thought they were proscribed in the summer so I looked it up and they aren't a proscribed terrorist organisation, the government created a new legal category for the IRGC called a state threat as the IRGC aren't a terrorist group, but a foreign government organisation. They've been designated under that instead which is basically the same as proscription, it's illegal to support them.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/first-groups-designated-as-threat-to-national-security

I honestly don't know. Now I'm old and have mobility problems, I haven't seen her for some years. Her news last Christmas came out of the blue.

Protect the rights of Palestinians [abroad] and Jews here in the UK.

But not the rights of Jews abroad.

Protect the right of some Palestinians to self-determination.

But not the rights of any Jews.

Hypocrit.

Disgraceful but hardly a shock anymore.

I had this when I mentioned the syrian occupation of lebanon.

You never know with some people. I do think these awful hate marches week in and week out have inflamed the situation, perhaps she now thinks her views are acceptable because others' share them?

Excellent points

Possibly, but when we were students together so long ago in the sixties, she was never one to change her mind because of what others might think or say.

Oh well, perhaps you'll never know.
These marches and the behaviour of people like the Greens have certainly fanned the flames of hatred.

I mean, she's probably trying to relive the excitement of her rebellious youth, except in a completely safe way. Getting arrested for Palestine Action comes with a thrill, but not very much actual danger, and something that you can put in your Christmas card that proves you might be old but you've still got it. She's so cool.

Can't believe what I have just read. These people are just such vile scum.

Yes, seems like the green of environmentalism is slowly morphing into the green of Islam. The by-election should tell us more about what's going on.

I just hope it all implodes as it's so rife with contradictions.

I was just looking up the polls for the by-election, and I didn't realise that George Galloway was standing as well as Polanski, which may split the antisemite vote. They're spoiled for choice!

Good point!

Anyone know why Binface isn't standing?

😂

One of the things I'm struck by as I read this thread is how measured, how eloquent and how willing to listen to each other everyone here is. It's so unexpected (sadly) and so far from the usual spouting of vitriol and hatred that has been rife on MN in respect of any Israel/Jewish adjacent thread, especially over the last 3 years.
It is so very welcoming and refreshing; whilst we may all be from different walks of life, different parts of the world and a veritable melting pot of cultural/religious (or not) demographics, there is collective humanity and humility; a willingness to engage respectfully. Again I thank you x

❤️

He has to much moral integrity to be part of an election with those two fuckwitts?

I did actually read somewhere a while ago that Galloway was standing. Completely forgot about it until now. Must be my brain trying to protect me from trauma. Human brains are fascinating things.

I couldn't agree more, @AlwaysRoomForGin. I came on this thread and expected the usual awful arguments. It's been a refreshing change!

This made me laugh 😂