A Week to Forget: The Greens' 'Zionism is Racism' Motion

After the Green Party’s skyrocketing success at the end of 2025 and beginning of 2026, going so far as to win their first ever by-election, it has come to a violent halt in the face of their ‘Zionism is Racism’ motion. 

The motion has split the UK’s political scene in two, with very few siding with the Green Party’s decisive action. The motion “supports the establishment of a single democratic Palestinian State in all of historic Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital, equal rights for all, and the right of return for Palestinians and their descendants.” In the one moment where a strongly divided Green Party was in desperate need of the words of wisdom of their leader, Zack Polanski, he was nowhere near the conference. Instead, he campaigned in the by-election for Holborn and St Pancras, a by-election the Green Party ultimately lost. 

The highly-polarising motion garnered support, receiving 1022 votes for with 813 against, and has subsequently shone a light on the blistering tensions simmering within the Green Party. Four of their five MPs chose to vote against the motion, with several claiming it was in contrast to the views of the Green Party. Ellie Chowns, MP for North Herefordshire, has referred to the motion as a “significant and damaging policy.” The singular MP who did not vote against, did not vote at all. Hannah Spencer, the Green MP for Gorton and Denton, chose to abstain entirely from the motion. 

There has also been severe backlash from the wider Jewish and political communities throughout the United Kingdom. The Movement for Progressive Judaism has restated that “Jewish self-determination is a right. Declaring it racist is an attack on Jews.” The Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis has called the motion “poisonous antisemitism, a threat to British Jews and to Britain.” If British Jews don’t feel this is beneficial, who is it beneficial for? 

Dov Waxman, a professor of Israel Studies at the University of California has defined Zionism as “Jewish liberation and sovereignty, a safe haven from persecution, a revival of the Hebrew language, and a renewed sense of collective pride, especially after the Holocaust.” It must be mentioned, this is simply one definition. 

Everyone will have a differing definition of Zionism, but it must ultimately relate to the longing to return to Zion – a concept that has been in Jewish holy texts since their creation. The Green Party have attempted to condense a historically complex religious term into a black and white vote; it has far more nuance than that, and I think Zack Polanski might be inclined to agree. 

This could be the final nail in the coffin for a struggling Green Party, alongside the news that Zack Polanski was not elected to be the MP for Holborn and St Pancras on 8 October.

Zack Polanski has stated in the days since the motion passed that while “the displacement and genocide of the Palestinian people is clearly underpinned by a racist ideology,” he simultaneously admits that “there’s parts [of the motion] I disagree with and parts I agree with.” When one takes into account that 66% of British Jews consider themselves Zionists, a statistic that has increased since the October 7 attacks, it truly begs the question: who is this motion for? 

Andy Burnham’s Government has been quick to show their opposition to the Green Party’s motion, with the Prime Minister himself calling it “completely wrong”, and that “

“for that reason, it shouldn’t be supported in any way, shape or form”. Furthermore, Angela Rayner, Secretary of State for Housing claims that this motion “crosses a line and is rightly being condemned across the political spectrum.”

It has also forced action within the Green Party with those uncomfortable with representing this motion. The Chair of the Jewish Greens, Vivien Lichtenstein, has declared it “quite possible” that she will elect to leave the Green party following the passing of this motion. A Green Councillor, Kevin Foster, has quit the Green Party, complaining that “I don’t feel like I’ve left the party, I feel like the party has left me.” 

Foster’s argument against this motion was that it is not fundamental Green Party policy, a thought that has been shared among many.

This could be the final nail in the coffin for a struggling Green Party, alongside the news that Zack Polanski was not elected to be the MP for Holborn and St Pancras on 8 October. The Green Party has been synonymous with environmental, communitarian values, and it could be easily perceived that this newfound focus on foreign affairs lessens their likeability among the British voters when it comes to the polls. While Green Party membership has greatly increased since Zack Polanski became leader in September 2025, that has not been without its problems. 

Caroline Lucas has stated her concern with ‘entryism’ within the Green Party – when people sign up to a party to try and change it. When such a high number of people sign up in such a short span of time, it is nearly impossible to know if every single person will truly align to the party’s values. These growing divisions, regarding both the motion and the direction of the party as a whole, will not serve the Green Party well. While Polanski claims he is going nowhere as leader, it is a struggle to picture him in his position for much longer after such a disappointing week. 

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