> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://violet-wood.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Green Party: Zionism is racism - URL: https://violet-wood.ghost.io/green-party-zionism-is-racism/ - Published: 2026-10-08T19:42:34.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T20:26:17.000Z - Author: Violet Wood - Tags: Politics *Disclaimer: I am not a member of any political party, although my position is closer to the Greens than to other parties in a range of policy areas.* Last Sunday, the Green Party annual conference voted in favour of a motion whose two headline points were: 1. Zionism is a form of racism. 2. There should be a single Palestinian state in which Jewish and Palestinian people would live together on an equal basis. The motion was opposed by its own MPs, but since the conference voted in favour, it becomes party policy because that is how the Green Party works. This is possibly the most controversial decision that the UK Green Party has ever made. The motion was condemned (predictably) by Israel, which has banned all the Green MPs from entering the country. Closer to home, the European Green bloc has distanced itself from the UK party, senior figures in the Labour Party say that Labour should not enter a coalition with the Greens after the next election, and it seems that existing cooperation between the Liberal Democrats and the Greens may come to an end. The main lines of attack have equated the Green’s anti-Zionism with anti-semitism and have also defended Israel’s right to exist as a separate state. For those who stand with Palestine, what can be said in favour of the Green Party motion? The idea of Zionism can be understood in various ways. It can mean no more than the longing of the Jewish people to return to Mount Zion, their spiritual home in the Old Testament. But in practice it means much more than that. Zionism as a political ideology has been used to justify the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory and the application of a system of apartheid against the Palestinian people for decades. Zionism is the basis for the destruction of the Palestinian homeland and a policy of ethnic cleansing. Zionism is the basis for the murder of many thousands of Palestinian civilians, including women and children. This is what Zionism now means: apartheid, genocide, war crimes, on a scale comparable to the worst excesses of the 20th century. Seen in that light, Zionism is certainly a form of racism. This is not a new position. It was the official policy of the United Nations for a period of 16 years from 1975 to 1991\. That policy was revoked only after intense pressure from the USA. Opposition to racism, and to apartheid, genocide and war crimes, is not anti-Semitism. These behaviours would and should be opposed wherever they occur. Israel is currently in the spotlight, but any other country behaving in the same way would be opposed on the same grounds. The Green Party motion makes an explicit distinction between anti-Zionism and anti-semitism: > We affirm that definitions of anti-Jewish discrimination should not equate Jewish identity with Zionist ideology or political practice. As with any ethnicity or faith group, no single political ideology should be ascribed to an entire people. The single-state solution is more difficult. Previously the Green Party supported a two-state solution in which Israel and Palestine would exist side-by-side. From what I know, that position holds more international support. The logical basis of the two-state solution is that both states have a right to exist. If you state that Israel has a right to exist, you must accept that Palestine also has a right to exist. The government of Israel defends the right of Israel to exist while denying the right of Palestine to exist. That strikes me as simply unfair. I would support both states existing independently, or one state in which both are treated equally, but I would not support the creation of a single state in which the identity of the members of the other state was erased completely. The leader of the Green Party, Zack Polanski, was not present for the debate. He left the conference a day early in order focus on campaigning in today’s byelection in Holborn and St Pancras. That was consistent with his unsuccessful attempt to have the whole conference postponed until after this important byelection. He has predictably been criticised for not showing leadership on this issue. The Green Party decision may influence voters in the byelection. Polanski may lose votes as a result. But this issue does not touch on local concerns which may be more relevant to the voters. The current Labour local authority is presiding over a massive redevelopment of the land around Euston station as part of the long-term HS2 rail project. In the process, a lot of parks and green spaces will disappear and will not be replaced. This may count in the Green’s favour in the byelection. All eyes now are on the election result, which will be known sometime on Friday.