The Green Party in the UK has adopted a policy of “Zionism is Racism,” cementing itself as one of Europe’s first openly anti-Israel parties.
The far-left socialist group, which started as an environmentalist movement, backed the amendment 1,022 to 813 and voted down another amendment that would have protected members from discipline “based on affiliation with Jewish community institutions” during a party conference in Brighton, UK.
“[Zionism] privileges one ethnic group on the basis of the subjugation of others,” the motion declared. “…This motion is aimed at the political ideology and practice of Zionism, as defined, and not at the religious or ethnic background of those who may identify as Zionists.”
“Not all Jews are Zionists and not all Zionists are Jews,” it went on before adding: “Zionism, as defined above, will be treated as any other form of racism, and this motion will be implemented by the anti-racism policy working group as appropriate and in accordance with its ordinary practice.”
The motion further called for the liberation of the Palestinian people and establishment of a “single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine, with Jerusalem as its capital.”
The UK Green Party is much smaller than the Tories or the Labor Party, but still has four Members of Parliament and two members of the House of Lords.
That would mean the end of Israel as a Jewish state.
Zionism, which the motion acknowledged is the foundational ideology of Israel, is the belief that Jewish people have sovereignty over the historical homeland of Israel.
Anti Israel groups have pointed to the treatment of the Palestinians in that region after many Jews returned.
The motion had previously been slated for a vote in the spring, but it got snarled with delays.
Jewish members of the UK Green Party splintered over the controversial motion. Jewish members were given a designated safe room if they felt endangered during the meeting, according to the Daily Mail.
The Green Party’s current leader, Zack Polanski, wasn’t present for the vote because of a campaign event he had related to next week’s by-election.
“This is a very sad day for the Green Party. I am deeply ashamed and horrified at what the party has become,” former UK Green Party deputy leader Shahrar Ali bemoaned to the Daily Mail.
“Making Zionism is Racism our official party policy has made us the first openly anti-Semitic party in the UK. That conclusion is inescapable.”
Regarding the provision about restoring “historic Palestine,” Ali warned that the “motion calling for the creation of a single state of Palestine requires the extinction of the state of Israel.”
“We’re not talking about 1967 borders here as a baseline for a two-state solution but the total obliteration of the state of Israel as a political entity,” he added.
