The Greens’ pro-Palestine group has demanded Jewish members of the party liberate their minds from “the supremacist grip of Zionism”, bombshell papers obtained by the JC reveal.
This newspaper can also disclose that Greens for Palestine has snubbed a request by Jewish Greens for mediation to resolve their differences.
Critics have condemned the “appalling” comments in the explosive dossier and called for an investigation by the equalities watchdog
The demand comes after months of allegations of antisemitism in the party led by Zack Polanski.
Furore erupted earlier this year over a proposed Greens motion to brand Zionism as “racism”, sparking widespread condemnation from Jewish leaders.
Now it can be disclosed that a state of intense hostility broke out soon afterwards between Greens for Palestine and Jewish Greens.
In a series of extraordinary exchanges following the fallout over the motion, the pro-Palestine group ordered Jewish Greens to:
• “apologise” for the actions of the Israeli Embassy;
• “retract” press stories critical of the party with which they had no connection;
• “unequivocally condemn” the referral of members to counter-terror police.
The Greens for Palestine group boasts links to senior elected officials within the party including deputy leader Mothin Ali.
Responding to the story, Greens for Palestine told the JC they rejected all forms of discrimination, and added: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” – a phrase that the prime minister has said he considers to be antisemitic.
Commenting on the JC’s revelations, the Jewish Leadership Council called on the Green Party leadership to step in.
A spokesperson said: “Rather than engage seriously with the Jewish community’s concerns, it seeks to blame and intimidate the Greens’ own Jewish group for raising legitimate objections to a motion many in the Jewish community regard as hostile and discriminatory. Demanding that Jewish members ‘liberate’ themselves from Zionism before engaging in mediation demonstrates an ideological purity demanded of Jews by Greens for Palestine.
“If the Green Party really cares about antisemitism, their leadership should step in to stop the farce of this ‘Zionism is racism’ motion.”
Former Labour MP Lord Walney was an outspoken critic of antisemitism in his former party under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn.
After seeing the Greens for Palestine papers, Walney called for Polanski’s party to be investigated by the same official watchdog which looked into Corbyn’s Labour, the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
Lord Walney, a former Labour MP who later served as the government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption, told the JC: “This angry diatribe from the Greens for Palestine group lays bare the way Jewish people who dare to stand their ground in so-called progressive movements are being aggressively intimidated by self-righteous pro-Gaza activists.”
He added: “The Green Party seems as badly infected by prejudice as the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn – it is surely time for a formal investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.”
The dossier of emails shows how the row played out starting on New Year’s Eve 2025.
In March this year, the pro-Palestine group rejected Jewish Greens’ request for mediation ahead of the discussion, demanding that they issue a “public apology” after Israel’s embassy publicly criticised the party for considering adopting the motion.
They also demanded that the Jewish group “publicly condemn and retract the briefing provided to right-wing press outlets like the Daily Mail and GB News”, without providing any sort of evidence that they had done so.
The demands were rejected by Jewish Greens, who reminded the pro-Palestine group that holding them, as British Jews, accountable for the actions of the Israeli government “is as racist as trying to hold all Muslims accountable for the actions of the Indonesian government”.
They also questioned how, practically, they could carry out the demand that they liberate their minds from Zionism: “we are not sure how this should be achieved or evidenced”.
The controversial motion, which was not adopted at the party’s spring conference in March, now looks set to be debated at the party’s annual conference in Brighton in October. There are concerns that the hostility faced by Jewish Greens could re-emerge ahead of the conference.
The revised motion is uncompromising in its depiction of Zionism, the belief in the existence of the state of Israel, saying: “Zionism has created and seeks to maintain – and where possible – expand, an apartheid regime between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, designed to cement the supremacy of one group, Jews, over another, Palestinians. As such, Zionism is racist.”
The motion, if implemented, would see the party treat Zionism “as any other form of racism”. However, the text denies it is discriminatory against Jews, claiming: “Not all Jews are Zionists and not all Zionists are Jews. Rejecting Zionism and supporting the liberation of the Palestinian people is not discriminatory against Jewish people. Nor is it discriminatory to support the establishment of a single democratic Palestinian State between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea with equal rights for all.”
As well as calling for the de-proscription of Palestine Action and continued support for a boycott of Israel, it also backs “the right of the Palestinian people to resistance and liberation from Israeli occupation, domination and subjugation, and acknowledges that the struggle to achieve that liberation by all available means under international law is legitimate.”
The Green Party’s leadership has faced criticism over the impact of its hardened anti-Israel policies.
Zack Polanski was recently rebuked by Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp for criticising the sentences given to Palestine Action activists who raided defence firm Elbit Systems and caused £1.2 million worth of damage.
Polanski has also faced criticism from Israeli victims of terror attacks after he was pictured wearing a t-shirt supporting the release of Palestinian terrorist Marwan Barghouti.
He also backed a petition blasted by the Board of Deputies, calling for a list of Britons who have served in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) since October 7.
Greens for Palestine, which describes itself as “a network of Green Party members dedicated to campaigning for the liberation of the Palestinian people”, boasted increased influence after May’s local election results, which they said expanded the number of explicitly anti-Zionist councillors.
One post by the organisation, shared by Lewisham cabinet member Hau-Yu Tam, said: “The smears didn’t work! Anti-Zionist Greens have been elected all over the country.” It had the song Intifada by anti-Israel rapper Lowkey as accompanying music, had the following text as a caption: “Even with the full force of the lobby, media and the police, anti-Zionist Greens across the country were still elected. The public opposes Zionism. When we stand and fight, we win.”
During the campaign, the Green Party’s deputy leader Mothin Ali told a meeting of Greens for Palestine that he was “concerned” that activists had been suspended, facing accusations of antisemitism, and urged them to seek “serious legal advice”.
Greens for Palestine told the JC: “We are unapologetically and proudly Anti-Zionist. We reject all forms of discrimination including Anti-Palestinian racism. From the river to the sea Palestine will be free!”
Jewish Greens told the JC: "We are seeking dialogue with our colleagues across the party to reach the best possible outcome to this difficult and emotive issue and will continue to work towards achieving this. We all share the same common objectives here: to end the genocide in Gaza and the human rights abuses by settlers in the West Bank; and to fight against antisemitism wherever it is found, in wider society and in the few instances where we find it in our own party."
The Green Party has been contacted for comment.
To get more Politics news, click here to sign up for our free politics newsletter.