Zack Polanksi has said he is not going to overturn the Green Party’s “Zionism is racism” motion and that he doesn’t think it is “controversial”.
The motion was passed on October 4 by 1,022 votes to 813. Polanski was not in attendance at the vote but one week later, said he would not have voted in favour unless the motion had been amended.
Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, the Green Party leader confirmed he would not look to overturn the new policy, saying: “I don't think this is actually controversial”. He added that what he believed was controversial was that “75,000 Palestinians have been murdered in the last few years”.
“If you talk about what's happening in Palestine right now, people are dying every single day, and my party is unified in saying this government is still arming that genocide,” he said.
Israel has consistently denied allegations of genocide.
Polanski went on to repeat previous statements he made in an op-ed in the Guardian earlier in the week, stating that he wanted to amend the motion “at the first available opportunity”.
“I want to move away from one state, towards saying that Israelis and Palestinians should decide that future for themselves."
This can’t be done until 2028, however, as per Green Party rules, which instruct that a policy remains in place for two years, he added.
Following the motion, some Green MPs have called for the party's policy-making procedures to be reviewed since less than 1 per cent of Green Party members took part in the vote.
Asked whether Israel had a right to exist, Polanksi told Kuenssberg that no country had a right to exist and that people had a right to exist and he wanted Israelis and Palestinians to live side-by-side with the same rights.
Pushed by Kuenssberg on whether he believed Zionism was racism, Polanski referred to previous TV appearances where he had said Zionism was racist "in the practical application of it".
He said he wanted "equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians", and the practical application of Zionism "hasn't resulted in that".
Polanski said he supported people’s right to self-determination "but not at the expense of another group, because that's racist".
The passed motion has been met with cross-party condemnation, including from Prime Minister Andy Burnham who said in the Commons on October 14: “Can I condemn the motion that was passed unequivocally? It is wrong. It is antisemitic, and this side of the house will have nothing to do with it.”
Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch echoed the prime ministers comments in an interview with ITV political editor Robert Peston. “This is disgusting. These are not people whose opinions we should be respecting. These are people who we should be calling out as being shameful,” she said.
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis hit out at the Greens’ policy, saying: “All decent people will see this for what it is: poisonous antisemitism, a threat to British Jews and to Britain."
The Greens are now facing a legal challenge from equality watchdog The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC),which said it recognised “many Jewish people will be feeling vulnerable following the party’s motion”.
In its letter to the Greens on October 15, the EHRC asked for “more information” to “assess its practical implications and potential impact”.
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