Green Party Leader Opposes Motion Calling for Single Palestinian State as Conference Approaches

Green Party leader Zack Polanski has publicly opposed a conference motion titled 'Zionism is Racism', which calls for a single Palestinian state and advocates for the Green Party to declare itself anti-Zionist. Polanski described the motion as a distraction and raised concerns about protections for Jewish party members. The motion, authored by London-based artist Lubna Speitan and backed by Greens for Palestine, also calls for boycotts and divestment against Israel. A similar motion failed at the party's spring conference.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski has voiced his opposition to a motion scheduled for debate at the party's annual conference, titled 'Zionism is Racism', which advocates for the creation of a unified democratic Palestinian state across the entirety of historic Palestine, with Jerusalem serving as its capital. The resolution, authored by London-based artist Lubna Speitan, calls for measures against Israel comparable to those imposed on South Africa during the apartheid period, including broad boycotts and economic sanctions, and includes language asserting that Zionism establishes and maintains an apartheid system across the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea; Speitan has also argued that Hamas should not be designated as a terrorist organisation. A pamphlet distributed alongside called for an end to what Speitan characterised as racism and the governmental structures sustaining it, concluding with the slogan "Free Palestine, from the river to the sea" — a phrase that remains contested regarding whether it carries antisemitic meaning. In remarks to journalists earlier this week, Polanski — who is contesting the Holborn and St Pancras seat ahead of the conference — described the motion as a distraction that would accomplish little. He characterised it as overstepping for either the British government or the Green Party of England and Wales to define the parameters of any future agreement between Palestinians and Israelis, while outlining his own position as party leader to be one of championing equal rights and justice for both peoples. The motion, introduced by Speitan and supported by Greens for Palestine, argues that Zionism has been and remains a driver of Palestinian displacement, dispossession, political marginalisation, and destruction, which the motion attributes to what it characterises as European settler-colonial frameworks of dominance and control. The proposal urges the Greens to take a formal anti-Zionist stance and back the establishment of a single, democratic Palestinian state throughout the entirety of historic Palestine, with Jerusalem serving as its capital, equal rights guaranteed for all inhabitants, and the right of return extended to Palestinians and their descendants. The document also calls for wide-ranging boycott and divestment actions directed at Israel, drawing a comparison with measures previously applied to South Africa under its apartheid-era government, and seeks endorsement from the UK Government, which has recently introduced sanctions connected to West Bank settlements. The proposal was defeated after a group of dissenting members exhausted the available parliamentary time to prevent it from moving forward.

Green Party Leader Opposes Motion Calling for Single Palestinian State as Conference Approaches

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Green Party Leader Opposes Motion Calling for Single Palestinian State as Conference Approaches

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