13/10/2026
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒃𝒚 𝑱𝒆𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝑽𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑳𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒃𝒚 𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒃𝒚 𝑱𝑽𝑳 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒘𝒆𝒃𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆.
https://jewishvoiceforliberation.org.uk/statement/in-solidarity-with-the-green-party/
𝐈𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 - 𝐉𝐕𝐋 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲’𝐬 “𝐙𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐦” 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
We extend our solidarity to the Green Party of England and Wales and its members who are facing a barrage of media smears and abuse following its conference decision to pass a ‘Zionism is Racism’ motion. We understand the outrage which underpins that motion, in particular a fury at the UK government’s complicity with the genocide in Gaza.
We believe that any division resulting from the differences of view on the motion, within and outside the Green Party is being fuelled by a hostile media response and bad faith actors who refuse to engage with what the real substance of the motion is – a reaction to genocide and an attempt to root out its causes.
We reject the accusations that the resolution is antisemitic and are appalled but not surprised by the media pile-up against both the Green Party and its Jewish leader, Zack Polanski.
As it has played out in Israel over the last hundred years and more Zionism has been racist and much more besides. It is also colonialist and ever more ethno-nationalist, culminating in apartheid, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and genocide. The motion is written at this time of genocide, embracing a Palestinian perspective, nailing down responsibility for it in how Zionist ideology has driven Israel’s actions.
The motion defines quite clearly the Zionism which it is calling out as racist. It says that this Zionism is “a political ideology which called for the creation – and, now it exists, the continuity – of an ethnonationalist Jewish State in historic Palestine to the exclusion and/or domination of the non-Jewish population. The real, material manifestation of Zionism has been the historic and ongoing dehumanisation, displacement, dispossession, disenfranchisement and destruction of Palestinians. This is based upon European settler-colonial systems of domination and oppression, which has also created racial hierarchies between Jews of different ethnicities in Palestine.”
Zionist ideology has elevated the concerns and desires of Jews in Palestine/Israel above those of all others. Creating such a hierarchy of worth is the signal of racism, making this Zionism a racist ideology.
It is generally agreed that identifying Jews with the actions of Israel is antisemitic. The resolution emphatically does not do that: it clearly and carefully distinguishes between Jews and Zionism and responsibility for Israel’s actions. To call this position antisemitic is an abuse of both Palestinians and Jews. It is those who attack ‘Zionism is Racism’ who insist on identifying a critique of Zionism with attacks on Jews as Jews, and Jews with the actions of Israel’s genocidal government. By so doing they are putting Jews at risk as proxies for Israel.
The motion calls for a single multi-ethnic state for all its citizens in historic Palestine with the right of return for exiled Palestinians and their descendants. A future single state is a longstanding, widely held end position for Israel and Palestine. It is possibly not a majority position amongst Palestinians in the region today and is certainly a minority position amongst Jews, though one shared by many in JVL. Nevertheless, we recognise the Palestinian right to self-determination and believe it is up to the people of the region to work out their future together. We reject the allegation that calling for such a state is a call for the murder or forced expulsion of Israeli Jews.
We welcome and support the unanimous statement of the Green Party MPs, and leadership group reiterating their determined opposition to all forms of racism and for the protection of all ethnicities.
We applaud the Green Party’s strong stance against the occupation, ethnic cleansing, apartheid and genocide and support for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions. We recognise the Green Party as an important progressive force on the left of politics in the UK. We note the parallels between the bad faith attacks on the Greens for being a party of the left that is critical of Israel and supportive of Palestinians, and those against the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn.
We hope the Green Party is able to recover quickly from the turbulence surrounding this motion and continue with its progressive policies on Palestine/Israel, reducing inequality, reshaping the economy and minimising environmental catastrophe.
Jewish Voice for Liberation (7 October 2026)