Britain’s Green Party votes to class Zionism as a form of racism

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Britain’s Green Party voted on Sunday to class Zionism as a form of racism, drawing criticism from British Jews and from the Israeli government which said it now viewed the party as “a body that gives legitimacy to terrorism.”

The party – which received 6% of the vote in national elections in 2024 – said it regarded Zionism as “an ethnonationalist political project” and repeated its call for Britain’s Labour government to end all arms trade with Israel.

“The motion also restates the Green Party’s backing for the right to self-determination and calls for the establishment of a single democratic state throughout historic Palestine,” the party said in a statement.

The definition of Zionism – which inspired the foundation of the modern state of Israel in the 20th century – and what it implies for the rights of non-Jews in Israel and neighbouring territory, is contentious. Jewish groups sometimes define it as a right to Jewish self-determination.

The Green Party motion passed by a majority of 1,022 to 813 despite opposition from many senior figures. Party leader Zack Polanski, who is seeking election to Parliament on Thursday in former Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s now-vacant London constituency, did not vote.

The result was condemned by British Jewish groups.

“The Green Party has made antisemitism party policy and become a racist party,” the Movement for Progressive Judaism said, adding that the support of some Jews for the motion did not mean it would not be used to discriminate against others.

Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar has decided to declare Polanski barred from entering Israel, the foreign ministry said in a post on X Sunday.

It said the Green Party motion “constitutes a clear antisemitic text according to the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition, as it denies the Jewish people’s right to self-determination,” the ministry said.

Mothin Ali, deputy leader of the Green Party and a supporter of the motion, told Sky News on Saturday that the heavy Palestinian death toll in Israel’s conflict with Hamas – which followed the Palestinian militant group’s deadly 2023 attack on an Israeli music festival – was the key context for the vote.

“The motion defines Zionism quite clearly. It defines it as an ethnonationalist movement. It defines it as ethnic cleansing. It defines it as genocide,” Ali said.

Britain’s government views Israeli settlers’ actions in the West Bank as amounting to ethnic cleansing but has said courts must decide if other Israeli actions qualify as genocide.

Israel – which rejects claims of ethnic cleansing and genocide – called on Sunday for other British political parties to condemn the Green Party vote. “The Greens have adopted not only the green of Hamas, but also its ideology: the elimination of the State of Israel through armed struggle,” it said.

Polanski and other senior Green Party figures said they would “continue to call out the heinous crimes of the Netanyahu government,” and that “there is no conflict between supporting the rights of Palestinians and the rights of Jewish people.”

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英国绿党周日投票决定将犹太复国主义归类为种族主义的一种形式，此举招致英国犹太人和以色列政府的批评。以色列政府表示，现在他们认为绿党是“一个为恐怖主义提供合法性的机构”。

该党在 2024 年全国大选中获得了 6% 的选票，称其将犹太复国主义视为“民族主义政治项目”，并再次呼吁英国工党政府停止与以色列的一切武器贸易。

“该动议还重申了绿党对自决权的支持，并呼吁在历史上的巴勒斯坦地区建立一个统一的民主国家，”该党在一份声明中表示。

犹太复国主义的定义——它启发了20世纪现代以色列国的建立——以及它对以色列及其周边地区非犹太人权利的影响，一直存在争议。犹太团体有时将其定义为犹太人的自决权。

尽管遭到许多资深人士的反对，绿党提出的动议仍以1022票对813票的多数票获得通过。绿党领袖扎克·波兰斯基没有投票，他正在竞选周四在伦敦举行的议会选举，该选区是前首相基尔·斯塔默目前空缺的选区。

这一结果遭到英国犹太团体的谴责。

“绿党已将反犹主义作为党的政策，并沦为种族主义政党，”进步犹太教运动组织表示，并补充说，一些犹太人支持该动议并不意味着它不会被用来歧视其他人。

以色列外交部周日发布消息称，以色列外交部长吉迪恩·萨尔已决定禁止波兰斯基入境以色列。

该部表示，绿党动议“根据国际大屠杀纪念联盟（IHRA）的定义，构成了一份明确的反犹太主义文本，因为它否认了犹太人民的自决权”。

绿党副领袖、该动议的支持者莫辛·阿里周六告诉天空新闻，以色列与哈马斯冲突中巴勒斯坦人的大量死亡——此前巴勒斯坦武装组织哈马斯于2023年对以色列音乐节发动了致命袭击——是此次投票的关键背景。

阿里说：“这项动议对犹太复国主义的定义非常明确。它将其定义为民族主义运动，定义为种族清洗，定义为种族灭绝。”

英国政府认为以色列定居者在西岸的行为构成种族清洗，但表示其他以色列行为是否构成种族灭绝，应由法院来决定。

以色列否认种族清洗和种族灭绝的指控，并于周日呼吁其他英国政党谴责绿党的投票。以色列方面表示：“绿党不仅采用了哈马斯的绿色，还采用了其意识形态：通过武装斗争消灭以色列国。”

波兰斯基和其他绿党高层人士表示，他们将“继续谴责内塔尼亚胡政府的滔天罪行”，并且“支持巴勒斯坦人的权利和支持犹太人的权利之间没有冲突”。