Greens adopt policy treating Zionism as racism (part 2)

[Twiglets1]

Follow on from previous thread

www.mumsnet.com/talk/politics/5585462-greens-adopt-policy-treating-zionism-as-racism?page=40&reply=155235707

I know! A moment of genuinely intelligent thought!

Weren’t several of them arrested in Tunisia or somewhere? Did they ever get out or are their pals all happy enough for them to be held hostage by an Arab government?

ETA: a quick google gave me this - not sure if there are others who were arrested or not:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/10/tunisian-flotilla-activists-remain-jailed-as-hunger-striker-worsens

Like the sun coming out after a long winter.

Oh and here as well: arrested in Libya, released after a month
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/6/24/four-gaza-aid-flotilla-activists-released-from-libya-detention

It says that six others were expected to be released shortly afterwards. I haven’t seen it confirmed that they are, but even assuming they are now free, it’s noticeable how little fuss there was by the “Free Palestine” people about their members being detained for weeks, compared to the indignation about Israel holding them for a matter of hours.

It’s almost as though…. 🤔

Zack Polanski signals Green party overhaul after row over Zionism vote

Zack Polanski has signalled a potential overhaul of the Green party’s cherished grassroots democracy, calling for leaders to have greater control over strategic direction after a divisive vote equating Zionism with racism.

Writing for the Guardian after his defeat in the Holborn and St Pancras byelection, Polanski suggests the party’s focus on defining Zionism has been misguided, even though he agrees with the substance of the motion.

His intervention marks the clearest indication yet that he believes the party’s internal structures need reform, after senior Greens raised concerns that its system of policymaking gives disproportionate influence to a small minority of members.

Under the Greens’ existing rules, policy is decided by members at party conference rather than by its leadership, a system that has increasingly come under scrutiny as membership surged.

The controversy intensified last weekend when 1,022 members representing about 0.4% of the party’s total membership voted in favour of a motion declaring Zionism a form of racism and backing a single Palestinian state.

Ellie Chowns, the Greens’ Westminster leader, said the party must not become vulnerable to capture by extremists and racists, arguing the vote demonstrated the urgent need to modernise its policymaking structures.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/oct/11/zack-polanski-signals-green-party-overhaul-after-row-over-zionism-vote

Have the Greens seen sense, or have they realised that they are making themselves even more unelectable than they already were?

Mothin won’t be happy with this move…

Agree

I think that some of the extremists played there cards too soon. The party leaders understand that was a big mistake elections wise but also they may lose totally control of the party if the don't act fast.

Zippy in no way has suddenly realised his party is antisemitic or that his party wrong. He believes in this rubbish as much as any grifter can. It may be a good grift for him but he is also pretty confused about his own identity as a Jew and has a lot of internal self hate.

Zippy is too thick to have seen sense in any moral sense. But I think the backlash has been worse than he or his little band of extremists anticipated.

Agree that the extremists played their cards too soon. Polanski is following traditional Greens in now trying to distance himself from this policy. But he hasn’t impressed anyone with the way he has played this, or shown any true leadership.

He is now in the unfortunate position of moderate Greens not liking him because this vote passed on his watch. And extremists within the party not liking him either because he isn’t doing what they want now.

I think the party structured are completely member led though, aren't they? The party has already been taken over so any change will need member approval. The Labour Party was big enough that the entryists were a small percentage of the whole. In The Greens it's the majority. 60,000 to 250,000 in a year indicates a huge takeover. But I suppose they can try before

He's in the FAFO stage of allowing himself to be used as a token. Everyone saw this coming.

Everyone but him and a few of his more naïve supporters I should think.

Hang on, let's dissect that article a little.

the party’s focus on defining Zionism has been misguided,
They didn't define it at all. That just pulled the word out of the air and declared an undefined concept to be racist.

even though he agrees with the substance of the motion
So Hynotits says he believes that that Zionism is racism, but either a) he isn't prepared to push forward with it now because it might reduce electability or b) he doesn't really believe it, but he needs to say he does to keep certain elements of the party (the Far Left, the Islamists) happy.

Ellie Chowns, the Greens’ Westminster leader, said the party must not become vulnerable to capture by extremists and racists,
I think it's too late. The saner members of the party have a massive rearguard action and counterattack on their hands, and their grasp of strategy thus far doesn't incline me to think that they'll win it.

I don't think they will win it either. They are the 'be Kind/ most marginalised people ever' type people so will always be vulnerable to being taken advantage of by people who can see their naivete a mile off and will take advantage of it. The Left always implodes into its own purity spiral in the end but it will take the poor deluded Greens with it this time. The Islamists hopefully will show everyone who they are and the government will have to do something about it, as they have in other European and Muslim majority countries.

This is doing the rounds today. Let’s hope it doesn’t prove prophetic.

Absolutely!

The only good point is the greens now have all the extremists swarming round their party, along with reform UK obviously.
The greens are unelectable so these people will never get their hands on any real power.

All I can think of is when people were saying that there was a problem with antisemitism in the Labour Party. People were whining about witch hunts (remember Labour Against the Witch-hunt’?) and Corbyn was complaining about how it was all a smear campaign by the press because they didn’t want a socialist prime minister?

It was this lot. And they are antisemitic, and always were, it’s just more exposed now. Corbyn had that same bounce Polanski did where people thought it was all about taxing the rich and being fair. Corbyn got found out for what it’s really about, and now Polanski is too.

Yes Corbyn and many of his supporters were clearly anti Semitic. I am glad they have all fucked off to the greens, although I do feel sorry for old fashioned green party members

Me too, people who genuinely thought they were supporting the cause of ecology. They've been used.

The concept of the environmental footprint took hold from around 2000 onwards. Then it was pointed out that poorer people and poorer countries have smaller environmental footprints, since they use less energy and fewer resources.

So there started to be an emphasis on this inequality, and on campaigning on equality and fairness as well as the environment. Most environmentalists went along with this, I think.

But the equality and fairness aspects gave an "in" to left wing campaigners, and again, in my view, many environmentalists thought, "Oh, they think the same as us".

Then the Omnicause arrived.

They were warned, over & over again. They chose to try and appease these fascists (which is what they are). I have absolutely no sympathy.

I agree, Sharon, they must have seen it coming. I also agree that they're fascists.

It's what happens when you are so scared to be called 'Far Right' that you don't actually question whether people who were always your friends and allies ( feminists, Jews) have actually mysteriously become 'far right' or are they just protecting themselves against people who are trying to remove their rights. When you are so desperate to align with the latest ' oppressed' people you fail to fail to engage in any critical thinking, you are vulnerable to bad actors who knows very well that you are naive and suffering from suicidal empathy.

I am a centrist left person.

The naive student politics that the green party has been overtaken by iis devoid of any real analysis.