The Green Party of England and Wales voted at its Brighton conference on Sunday to adopt a resolution describing Zionism as a form of racism and calling for a single democratic state across historic Palestine, with Jerusalem as its capital. Delegates backed the motion by 1,022 votes to 813.

The vote drew objections from multiple quarters, with dissenting voices arguing the party had adopted a position others considered outside accepted political boundaries.

On the Holborn and St Pancras by-election trail, Green Party leader Zack Polanski — who is himself Jewish — sought on multiple occasions to ease internal tensions by drawing a distinction between antisemitism and scrutiny of the Israeli government, while also setting out his position that the party should be open and inclusive regardless of members' faith or background. Polanski gave assurances that faith would play no part in determining membership, and that advocacy for both Palestinian and Jewish communities across the UK would remain central to the party's work.

Opponents of the motion described it as an attack on the Jewish community, a characterisation that prompted calls for both police and the equalities watchdog to investigate whether any discrimination occurred. Formal representations to the British government are to be made by the United States over the position adopted by the Greens, with the official tasked by Washington with monitoring antisemitism having described the party's decision as a matter of concern.

Tensions between Green activists and pro-Israel supporters arose in the area surrounding the conference venue, with both groups in confrontation over what the motion would mean in practice.

During a broadcast that aired the Saturday before the vote, Polanski was asked whether the motion amounted to a call for Israel's removal, to which he replied that what he sought was a revision recognising equal rights for both Israelis and Palestinians. Delegates voted to turn down a proposed amendment. Under questioning, Polanski put forward the position that both Israelis and Palestinians hold an equal right to existence.

A number of Labour MPs wrote to Sussex Police calling for an inquiry into what took place in Brighton, while also pressing the Equalities and Human Rights Commission to examine whether Jewish party members had faced discrimination. The department's press office indicated that the submission had been logged and was being looked into.

Polanski has argued that the Greens remain committed to social justice, environmental sustainability, and the protection of freedom and safety for everyone, while also contending that the boundary separating antisemitism from criticism of Israel deserves careful consideration. He has pledged to lead a party that draws together people of varied backgrounds, beliefs, and traditions, and has restated his commitment to the principles of compassion, fairness, and equality.

Internal divisions among Green party members, combined with scrutiny from external commentators, have placed the party's leadership in a position where no clear course has yet been charted — particularly around how the Greens approach the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.