Israel has banned the leader of the British Green Party, Zak Polanski, from entering Israeli territory after members of the formation adopted a resolution defining Zionism as a form of racism. The decision was announced after a party conference in Brighton, where the document received 1022 votes “for“ against 813 “against“.
With the resolution, the Green Party defines itself as anti-Zionist. The text describes Zionism as an ideology supporting an “ethno-nationalist Jewish state“, and the party declares support for the creation of a “united democratic Palestinian state“ over the territory of all of historic Palestine, with Jerusalem as its capital.
The document claims that the material manifestation of Zionism includes the dehumanization, displacement, deprivation of property and civil rights, and the destruction of Palestinians. The resolution also supports the right of Palestinians to resist the occupation and insists that Zionism be treated “like any other form of racism“.
Israel has described the text as anti-Semitic
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said that the resolution legitimizes “the destruction of the State of Israel“. In an updated statement, the ministry described the text as clearly anti-Semitic according to the definition of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, as it denies the right of the Jewish people to self-determination.
“Today, the British Green Party adopted a resolution that equates Zionism with racism, legitimizes armed struggle against Israel and calls for the creation of a Palestinian state from the river to the sea, which means the destruction of the State of Israel“, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.Critics of this definition argue that it conflates anti-Zionism with anti-Jewish sentiment and is used to label opponents of Israeli policies as anti-Semites.
Polanski did not participate in the vote
Zach Polanski did not attend the vote. He left the conference after his speech on Friday to campaign for a by-election in London. In a joint statement with party MPs and his deputies, Polanski said that support for Palestinian rights did not contradict the rights of the Jewish people.
The resolution also caused disagreements within the party leadership. Co-chair Motin Ali supported it, while Rachel Millward described the wording as “problematic“. Jewish organizations criticized the text even before the vote, describing it as an attack on the Jewish community.
The Israeli ban on Polanski's entry is directly related to the position adopted by the party, although its leader did not participate in the vote itself. No further details have been provided at this time on the duration or scope of the ban.
Sources: BNR, BTA