Jewish groups strongly criticised the proposed motion on Zionism, claiming it could fuel hostility toward the community.
In the lead-up to the spring conference, an influx of pro-Palestine activists joined the party, raising concerns about coordinated efforts to influence the vote.
The conference – which was held on Zoom – was marred by tech faults, and the voting platform, unable to cope with the nearly 1,000 participants, crashed repeatedly, according to The Telegraph.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski (C-white T-shirt) and former Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn (centre L-light cap) join protesters in the anti-far right Together Alliance march in central London (Credit: Henry NICHOLLS / AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images
The debate was dominated by internal divisions, as some members pushed to fast-track the motion while others attempted to block it.
Attempts were made during the conference to rule the motion as out of order, arguing that its call for one Palestinian state contradicted previous party support for a two-state solution.
Supporters of the motion ultimately pushed to fast-track its passage onto the agenda, but in the closing stages of the conference, a series of no-confidence motions against the chair were rapidly introduced, prompting significant delays as party rules required each to be debated individually.
Despite the chair extending the session by 15 minutes, time eventually ran out, and the motion was neither fully debated nor put to a vote.
Neither Zack Polanski, leader of the Greens, nor his deputy, Mothin Ali, was present for the vote.
Instead, they were attending the Together Alliance’s march against the far-right in central London, which itself was a subject of controversy due to allegations that organisers “froze out” some Jewish groups and that members some of the organisations participating had described October 7 as a “lie” and claimed that Zionists “love killing”.
The conference follows revelations this week that members of Polanski’s own family, who no longer speak with him, say they fear they will have to leave the UK if he becomes prime minister.
One told the Daily Mail: “If the ‘Zionism is racism’ motion is passed, it will make the Greens the most antisemitic party in British history since Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists. The idea of it is one of the most sickening things I’ve heard in a long time.’
A second family member said: “The mad thing is that he’s gay, he’s Jewish, but he’s cosying up to people whose ideology is the complete antithesis of everything that he’s supposed to stand for. It’s like he’s a chicken, telling us to vote for KFC.”
However, Polanski’s mother, who is understood to hold pro-Israel views and whom the Mail reported is the only relative to still talk to him, was said to tell family members that “while she does not agree with his politics, she loves him as her son and is proud of what he’s achieved”.
