A Green Party member for over 30 years, Elise Benjamin, has expressed concern over antisemitism within the party, as internal tensions over Israel-Palestine threaten to overshadow electoral gains. Benjamin, a former Green councillor in Oxford, helped draft the party's antisemitism guidance but now calls for an urgent review of the complaints process to handle a rapidly expanding membership.
The Greens, on the brink of power in some councils and aiming to eclipse Labour, have faced months of scrutiny over antisemitism allegations. Since Zack Polanski, who is Jewish, became leader in September, membership has nearly quadrupled to over 220,000. However, recent incidents, including the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green and the arrest of two Green candidates for allegedly stirring up racial hatred online, have intensified the debate.
Another candidate, Tina Ion, standing for Newcastle city council, was accused of antisemitism after posting a call for "every single Zionist" to be killed, which she dismissed as "isolated fragments." Polanski himself apologised after sharing a post questioning police force used on the Golders Green suspect, acknowledging his responsibility to lower tensions.
The controversy reflects a broader left-wing debate over Zionism, defined by supporters as a struggle for a Jewish homeland and by critics as a colonial project. Since the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack and Israel's subsequent assault on Gaza, arguments within the Greens have played out publicly and privately, mirroring wider societal tensions over the impact on British Jews.
Benjamin described a "small but noisy core" focused solely on this issue, neglecting other party policies. The influx of new members, many from Labour under Jeremy Corbyn, has revived dynamics seen in Corbyn's era, where support for Palestinian rights sometimes blurs into generalised attacks on Jews. Critics argue antisemitism is exaggerated for political gain, while Polanski has faced attacks from the Daily Mail, which quoted distant relatives calling him "the leader of the future Islamic party of Britain."
