Green deputy leader defeated as Leeds council declares ‘Zionism is not racism’

During the debate, Councillor Dan Cohen, who is Jewish, argued that it is an “obvious truth” that Zionism is not racism.

“Zionism is a very simple belief: that Jewish people have the right to self-determination in our ancestral homeland. That’s it,” he said.

Cohen, who has been a Leeds councillor for 15 years and was previously Lord Mayor of the city, continued: “According to the Green Party, I am a racist. The majority of Jews in this country, indeed around the world, identify as Zionist.

“The Greens do not get to use a useful few to rewrite my identity, to tell us what it is to be Jewish. I’m afraid not. They don’t get to condemn us for their version of my faith.”

Ali, during his address, claimed it was “an understatement” to say Zionism is a racist ideology.

As passed, the motion condemns the Green Party conference’s resolution declaring Zionism to be racism, opposes any proposal to replace Israel with a single Palestinian state and supports a two-state solution.

It also “expresses concern at the rejection of an amendment by the Green Party protecting individuals from being challenged over their affiliation with synagogues and Jewish Community organisations.”

Meanwhile, a joint Conservative-Labour motion that ‘Zionism is not racism’ was also passed at Westminster council on Wednesday. It was only the second time a joint motion between the two parties has been presented since 2018.

Conservative councillor for Abbey Road Ward Hannah Galley Payne introduced the motion, saying she has witnessed a “growing climate of intolerance, intimidation, and hatred directed towards Jewish people”.

“The Green Party of today is a far cry from its roots,” she said. “It has become a home to elements of the radical far left, and it has been infiltrated by racists who do not respect Jewish identity and want to cause intolerance in our own communities.

“The motion passed at its most recent conference equating Zionism with racism is perhaps the clearest example of just how far that party has fallen.”

Saying Zionism is racism is a “warped argument that is uniquely applied to Israel,” she said. “I can think of no other nation whose right to self-determination is singled out as an illegitimate or racist endeavour.”

Outside the building, anti-Israel activists congregated amid a heavy police presence.

They chanted slogans including “Zionism no more. Smash the Zionist settler state. Long live the resistance” and “Zionism is a crime. Israel out of Palestine. We don’t want no two states, we want 1948,” referring to the borders of Palestine before the establishment of Israel.

They also offered support for the regime in Tehran, adding: “Long live Iran, long live the resistance.”