Green Party members have spoken out about quitting the party after a 'Zionism is Racism' motion was passed at the party's conference last weekend. Andrée Frieze, a former Green councillor of eight years, said fellow Jewish members felt 'unsafe and unwelcome' after the policy she labelled 'antisemitic' was voted through on Sunday.
Kieran Dams, a current councillor, said he was quitting the party because it was going down a 'dark route' after an influx of members not aligned to Green values. The motion has triggered international condemnation from the European Greens and led to backlash from within the party, including from former leader Adrian Ramsay. Four out of the party's five MPs also opposed the policy, which was spearheaded by internal pressure group Greens for Palestine.
Jewish members feel unsafe
Andrée, who is Jewish and served as opposition leader for the Greens in Richmond council, said the motion meant she 'cannot be a party member'. She told Metro: 'I believe the motion makes Jews unsafe in the party. There are 53 Muslim majority nations and 120 Christian majority countries, but we are saying the Jewish people cannot have a nation. Jews should be allowed, like any other group, to self-define.'
Andrée is particularly upset that a 'safeguarding' amendment put forward to stop the motion being used to 'pressure, proscribe or discipline members based on affiliation with Jewish community institutions' was voted down. She continued: 'I do not want to stay and be hounded. What the party decided is that Jews are not welcome in the Greens.'
The former councillor said she stepped down as a councillor in May this year because of the direction the party was heading in. She added: 'Unfortunately the Green Party has been infiltrated by people who do not have the environment at their heart. They have made the Green Party about this one issue.'
Party membership surge
The Green Party has seen a massive spike in members since Zack Polanski was elected leader in September 2025. There were only 68,000 members then, which now sits at more than 200,000. Andrée said that some members, unhappy with the direction of the party and the anti-Zionist motion, are now setting up groups and inviting other non-Jewish members to join them to realign the party with its core values and minimise the harm from the motion.
A number of Green Party members who are not Jewish have also left the party. Councillor Kieran Dams, 23, said he is leaving after seeing Jewish members 'in tears' after the vote on Sunday. The local representative in Sefton told Metro: 'The party is going down a dark route which is going to be harmful for lots of Jewish people. I was disgusted by what I saw at the party conference. This motion has unleashed the beast and that is not going to be easy to get it back in the cage.'
Kieran will now sit as an independent and says he has heard from a number of other Green councillors in the country who are also torn about whether to stay or fight. He believes the make up of the party membership has changed dramatically from when he first joined as a teenager in 2021. Kieran said: 'There has been an influx of members. A lot of these members do not hold beliefs which align with the party. People may be in for a rude awakening but that is not my problem anymore.'
Mixed reactions and international backlash
One of those who will stay in the party and fight to change the motion is human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell. He told Metro: 'I'm heartbroken. The Greens already have a strong policy condemning the dispossession of the Palestinian people by the Israeli state. While the essence of the motion is commendable, its careless, unwise wording risks losing the Greens support; undermining the decades of hard work that many of us did to create an effective, credible progressive party. Already, six people have told me that they are leaving the Greens over the motion. I will stay and fight to amend it, and to make sure it is not in the party's election manifesto.'
The chair of Jewish Greens, Vivien Lichtenstein, said she had not made up her mind about whether to leave the party and would be talking to senior party members about the way forward. She insisted, however, that Jewish people were welcome in the party despite the vote.
The vote on Sunday has prompted backlash around the globe. Zack Polanski was banned from entering Israel with the country accusing the Green Party of legitimising 'the destruction of the State of Israel' with a 'clear antisemitic text'. The European Green Party said they 'will immediately demand clarity from the leadership and parliamentary group of GPEW, to understand the official party policy of GPEW, how they position themselves towards the self-determination of Israelis and Jews as well as the protection of Jewish people and members in the party'.
Nine Labour MPs have also referred the party to Sussex Police, asking the force to investigate whether alleged 'possible antisemitic offences' at the conference merit a criminal investigation. The Green Party spokesperson said: 'We remain committed to upholding our own Code of Conduct and our duties under the Equality Act, and to ensuring the Green Party continues to be a safe place for all members.'
Leader Zack Polanski has also insisted he will not accept anyone being excluded from the Green Party 'because of the religious or communal body they are part of'. He added: 'I take seriously my responsibility to make sure everyone feels safe and welcome in our party. Under my leadership, no-one will be made unwelcome because of their background, their faith, or where they worship. As leader, my role is to bring people together and ensure we are all working in unity for the things we believe in and care about: freedom and safety for all.'
Polanski continued: 'In the UK and across the world people have been horrified by the atrocities carried out by the Israeli government in Gaza – with a classroom of children being killed every day. Through the Green Party's unified stance and dedicated pressure, we have begun to shift this government away from its complicity with the Israeli government's atrocities in Gaza, with the Foreign Secretary now taking the long overdue step of ending trade with illegal settlements.'
