The Green leader of Haringey Council says he did not support the national party's “unhelpful” motion on Zionism – despite respecting some of its “core principles”.
The comments from Mark Blake follow the vote by members of the Green Party of England and Wales to back a controversial “Zionism is racism” motion at its annual conference in Brighton last Sunday, “formally establishing it as an anti-Zionist party”.
As well as defining Zionism as racism, the motion also called for a “single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine”. Both the UK government and UN advocate for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Blake's position on the motion
In a statement shared with the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Cllr Blake explained his position on the motion, saying: “I support the core principles of the policy: no state should be established on the idea that one religion is superior to another. “The political ideology behind the displacement and genocide of the Palestinian people is clearly racist.”
“However,” the council leader added, “I don’t feel comfortable with British political parties or politicians deciding on behalf of Israelis and Palestinians what the solutions should be.”
Cllr Blake said he felt it was “unhelpful to focus on an ideological debate on definitions”, rather than create “ideas to establish a just peace for all”.
Labour and Lib Dem responses
In another statement issued today, Haringey Labour councillors called the Green Party's motion “deeply concerning”. The Labour opposition group, while expressing support for a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians, said they defined Zionism as “Israel's right to self-determination”. They called on the council's Green minority administration to clarify its position and “reaffirm” its commitment to condemning antisemitism “and all forms of hatred”.
It followed similar calls from Liberal Democrat members of the local authority yesterday, who slammed the national Green Party's motion, describing it as “a hostile move across the Jewish community”.
Green group's stance
Speaking to the LDRS on Friday, the council's Green group refrained from outright support or condemnation of the controversial motion, saying its councillors “do not agree on everything” and that the policy “does not change how we work in Haringey”. Nevertheless, the group argued that Zionism “as a political ideology” has been used “to disposes Palestinians of their homes, displace them from their land, and justify a genocide”.
Responding to opposition criticism, they said: “Anti-Zionism is not antisemitism. Criticism of a political ideology should never be conflated with hostility towards Jewish people.” The Green administration added that it would “continue to prioritise community safety, challenge antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism and all other forms of discrimination”.
Calls for national leader's resignation
There have been calls today for Zack Polanski, the Green Party's national leader, to resign, both in response to last Sunday's vote and to his failure to win a by-election in Holborn and St Pancras last night. Speaking today, Polanski vowed to carry on as leader. Last Sunday's motion, he said, was “imperfect” and not one he would have voted for. He also argued that “the displacement and genocide of the Palestinian people is clearly underpinned by a racist ideology”.
Israel continues to support the illegal occupation of the West Bank. At the same time, its actions during the war in Gaza, where more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed, have been described by a UN commission as a genocide.
