Green Party MP wants to make sure it is 'not vulnerable to extremists'

A Green Party Member of Parliament has expressed concern over the party’s vulnerability to extremist and racist influences following a recent internal vote that adopted a motion equating Zionism with racism. This policy, which was passed during the Green Party’s conference earlier this month, has sparked deep divisions among prominent party members and attracted criticism from various Jewish organizations.

Ellie Chowns, the party’s Westminster leader, described the newly adopted motion as “significant and damaging” in an interview with the BBC and emphasized her commitment to reforming the party. She acknowledged the contentious nature of Zionism, calling it a “contested concept,” and stated that the motion does not reflect the views of the majority of Green Party members nor the wider public. Chowns warned that the policy, backed by only a tiny fraction of the party’s membership—1,022 votes for to 813 against from a total membership of approximately 230,000—represents a structural problem within the party’s policy-making process. She also argued that the motion could distract from the party’s important work advocating for Palestinian rights.

The motion itself supports the establishment of a “single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine,” which includes the territory of modern-day Israel, and defines Zionism as an ideology endorsing “an ethnonationalist Jewish state.” Responses to the motion from British Jewish groups were highly critical. The Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council countered the claim by stating, “Zionism is anti-racism, creating a refuge for Jews in their ancient homeland after millennia of persecution outside it.”

Former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas, who led the party for many years as its only MP until 2024, also addressed the issue on BBC Radio 4. She refrained from blaming the current leader, Zack Polanski, praising his achievements and highlighting that the party’s constitution, drafted decades ago, predates its current size and scope. Lucas underscored the need for the Greens to become “a welcoming place for Jewish people.” Meanwhile, a party spokesperson emphasized that the Green Party’s growing membership base has the right to propose and set policy. They noted that the contentious motion was only one among many debated during the conference and rejected the notion that any particular interest group controls party policy. Polanski, who is Jewish, stated he would not have supported the original motion but recognized the “substantial part of the motion” asserting “the displacement and genocide of the Palestinian people is clearly underpinned by a racist ideology” as “obvious.” This stance contrasts with Israel’s repeated denials that its actions in Gaza constitute genocide.

Ashok Kumar, a Green Party member active in the Greens for Palestine group, voted in favor of the motion and defended it as a call for “Palestinian liberation.” Speaking to BBC Politics Live, he argued that the vote does not damage the party’s image and claimed that support for the Palestinian cause is increasingly seen as central by many. Kumar also commented on ongoing violence over the past three years, suggesting that the Zionist viewpoint is becoming increasingly marginal within the party

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