Israel lashes out as UK’s Green Party formally defines Zionism as ‘racism’

Israel’s president declared that the ‘antisemitic lie’ deliberately endangers Jews and Israelis.

Britain's Green Party leader Zack Polanski and lawmakers Hannah Spencer and Sian Berry attend the party's conference on October 2, 2026 [Carlos Jasso/Reuters]

Israel has reacted with anger after the United Kingdom’s Green Party voted to define Zionism as a form of racism.

Israel, as well as British Jewish groups, lashed out on Sunday following the vote by the small political party. The Israeli government declared that it now views the left-leaning Greens as giving “legitimacy to terrorism”.

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The Green Party, which received 6 percent of the vote in the UK’s 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.

In a swift response, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the policy went “far beyond the boundaries of legitimate political debate” and called on other British political parties to condemn the resolution.

“The Greens have adopted not only the green of Hamas, but also its ideology: the elimination of the State of Israel through armed struggle,” the ministry wrote on social media.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog labelled the move “a disgrace and a shame”. Writing on social media, he said: “Those who claim the antisemitic lie that ‘Zionism is racism’ deliberately endanger Jews and Israelis everywhere.”

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said it is “not Zionism that’s racism, it is the Green Party”.

The Movement for Progressive Judaism, a British group, said: “The Green Party has made ⁠antisemitism party policy and become a racist party”.

It added that the support of some Jews for the motion did not mean it would not be used to discriminate against others.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski delivers a speech during day one of the Green Party annual conference on October 2, 2026 [Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images]

During the vote, the Green Party also reaffirmed its “commitment to Palestinian liberation, the right of return, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), and a full arms embargo against Israel”.

It also reiterated support for “the establishment of a single democratic state throughout historic Palestine”, the party said in a statement.

The motion was backed by a majority of 1,022 to 813. Party leader Zack Polanski , who is running for Parliament in former Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s London constituency, did not vote.

In an interview with UK media outlet Sky News, the Greens’ co-deputy leader Mothin Ali said that the heavy casualty toll during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and its ongoing attacks were the context for the vote.

The Green Party has five sitting members in the UK’s 650-seat parliament.

Following the passage of the resolution, Polanski and other Green Party members said in a joint statement they would “continue to stand in opposition to genocide, ethnic cleansing, apartheid and the illegal occupation” and “call out the heinous crimes of the Netanyahu government”.

以色列总统宣称，“反犹谎言”蓄意危害犹太人和以色列人的安全。

英国绿党领袖扎克·波兰斯基和议员汉娜·斯宾塞、西恩·贝瑞于2026年10月2日出席了该党的会议。[卡洛斯·贾索/路透社]

英国绿党投票决定将犹太复国主义定义为一种种族主义形式，此举激怒了以色列。

以色列和英国犹太团体周日对这个小政党的投票结果表示强烈谴责。以色列政府宣称，它现在认为左倾的绿党是在“为恐怖主义提供合法性”。

英国法庭确认教授的反犹太复国主义信仰受法律保护（共4项，此为第1项）

英国议会将就以色列对英国政治的影响展开辩论（共四项，此为第二项）：我们目前了解的情况

问题 3（共 4 个）：一个政党可以既是左翼政党又是犹太复国主义者吗？

以色列总理斯莫特里奇呼吁在西岸发动“战争”：是空洞的言辞还是真正的威胁？（共4条，此为第4条）

绿党在2024年英国大选中获得了6%的选票，该党表示，它认为犹太复国主义是“一个民族主义政治项目”，并再次呼吁英国工党政府停止与以色列的一切武器贸易。

以色列外交部迅速回应称，该政策“远远超出了合法政治辩论的范畴”，并呼吁其他英国政党谴责该决议。

“绿党不仅采用了哈马斯的绿色，还采用了它的意识形态：通过武装斗争消灭以色列国，”该部在社交媒体上写道。

以色列总统伊萨克·赫尔佐格称此举“令人蒙羞”。他在社交媒体上写道：“那些散布‘犹太复国主义是种族主义’这种反犹谎言的人，是在蓄意危害世界各地的犹太人和以色列人。”

以色列反对派领导人亚伊尔·拉皮德表示，“种族主义不是犹太复国主义，而是绿党”。

英国进步犹太教运动组织表示：“绿党已将反犹主义作为党的政策，并沦为种族主义政党。”

声明还补充说，一些犹太人支持这项动议并不意味着它不会被用来歧视其他人。

2026年10月2日，绿党领袖扎克·波兰斯基在绿党年度大会第一天发表讲话。[Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images]

在投票期间，绿党还重申了其“对巴勒斯坦解放、回归权、抵制、撤资和制裁（BDS）以及对以色列全面武器禁运的承诺”。

该党在一份声明中重申了对“在历史上的巴勒斯坦地区建立一个统一的民主国家”的支持。

该动议以 1022 票赞成、813 票反对获得通过。正在竞选前首相基尔·斯塔默伦敦选区议员的党魁扎克·波兰斯基没有投票。

绿党副党魁莫辛·阿里在接受英国媒体天空新闻采访时表示，以色列对加沙发动的种族灭绝战争及其持续袭击造成了重大伤亡，这是此次投票的背景。

绿党在英国650个议席的议会中拥有5个席位。

决议通过后，波兰斯基和其他绿党成员在一份联合声明中表示，他们将“继续反对种族灭绝、种族清洗、种族隔离和非法占领”，并“谴责内塔尼亚胡政府的滔天罪行”。