The Green party of England and Wales is grappling with the fallout from a conference vote that adopted a policy stating Zionism is a type of racism, with some members blaming leader Zack Polanski for failing to act. The motion, which also calls for Israel to be replaced by a Palestinian state, was passed by a narrow margin, prompting condemnation from outside the party and concern within it.
Polanski's role in the controversy
Polanski, who became leader after the Greens' triumph in February's Gorton and Denton byelection, where the party polled above 20%, has been accused by critics of abdicating responsibility. While he holds only one vote on the party's executive committee, as a figurehead he wields significant informal influence. Critics charge that he has repeatedly failed to use it.
The party operates as a direct democracy, with members deciding policy. The motion was actively supported by exactly 1,022 members, roughly 0.4% of the total. Polanski could not have unilaterally changed the party's governance, but critics say he could have spoken out about how Greens for Palestine, who tabled the motion, encouraged non-members to sign up to get the policy adopted.
Absence from the vote
Polanski skipped the vote to campaign in the Holborn and St Pancras byelection, where he was already seen as an outsider. The motion passed by only 209 votes, but it has caused considerable anguish inside the party, with four out of five Green MPs opposing the idea despite their strong criticism of Israel.
The vote overshadowed the party's largest and most ambitious conference to date and may dog the Greens for years, especially given the apparent likelihood of legal action under equality laws. Robert Ford, professor of politics at Manchester University, said: "This act of self-indulgence by a radical fringe of activists will put a lower ceiling on Green support right at a time when a broader breakthrough became plausible. The sooner it is reversed the better for their electoral prospects."
Wider implications for the party
The controversy echoes Labour's struggles under Jeremy Corbyn, whose activists' opposition to the Israeli government was criticised as spilling over into antisemitism, a view formally endorsed in 2020 by the human rights watchdog. Some Greens say that a number of those who quit or were forced out of Labour have now joined their party, some via Corbyn's subsequent project, Your Party.
Worried Greens are looking to Polanski to take action, but after missing Sunday's debate, he has been unusually silent on social media, posting just a couple of times about the byelection. With a new party leadership election due in less than a year, there is not much time to wait.
