UK Green Party Faces Deep Crisis Over Controversial Zionism Resolution
A deep internal crisis grips the Green Party of England and Wales after a conference vote defined Zionism as racism, pitting deputy leader Mothin Ali against leader Zack Polanski.
A deep internal crisis is unfolding within the Green Party of England and Wales following a contentious conference vote that defined Zionism as racism. Mothin Ali, one of the party's two deputy leaders, stated on Wednesday that the decision made at the Brighton conference must be respected, putting him on a direct collision course with party leader Zack Polanski, who is seeking to soften or amend the resolution.
The controversial motion passed at the party's conference in Brighton with 1,022 votes in favor and 813 against. It declares that "Zionism is racism," defines the Greens as an anti-Zionist party, and supports the establishment of a single democratic Palestinian state across the entire territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, with Jerusalem as its capital. Four of the party's five members of parliament opposed the measure. Polanski himself did not participate in the vote, having left the conference to manage his campaign in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.
According to the Financial Times, Ali, who is associated with the pro-Palestinian faction and supports the Greens for Palestine group, emphasized that the Greens are a democratic party governed by its members and that the voting results must be accepted. However, he did not rule out the possibility of a future amendment to the text. Polanski, on the other hand, has signaled that he wants to modify the resolution so that it does not preclude potential support for a two-state solution.
The dispute extends far beyond the issue of Israel. The Guardian reported in recent days that Polanski seeks to overhaul the party's decision-making mechanisms after effectively acknowledging that a relatively small group of activists managed to drive policy with heavy national implications. He aims to grant the leadership greater leverage over strategic decisions.
Political costs are also mounting. Former leader and Member of Parliament Caroline Lucas is among the fierce critics of the resolution, and some activists have even called for her expulsion from the party. Meanwhile, a Green councillor in North Yorkshire announced his resignation, arguing that it is "no longer the party it used to be."
The crisis comes on the heels of Polanski's defeat in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, where Labour candidate Segal Abdi-Wali secured victory with 12,292 votes compared to Polanski's 8,928. The loss, combined with the uproar over the Zionism resolution, heightens fears among senior Green figures that the party—which has enjoyed a rise in support in recent months—risk being perceived as overly focused on internal ideological battles rather than its core environmental and social agenda.
