UK Jewish organization declares Green Party racist following 'Zionism is racism' motion

Great Britain’s leading Jewish umbrella organization, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, voted overwhelmingly on Sunday to declare the Green Party racist after it became the first European party earlier this month to officially equate the Jewish national liberation movement Zionism with “racism.” The Green Party also called for replacing Israel with a “Palestinian state.” The Board’s motion passed with 118 votes in favor and only one against.

The Green Party also called for replacing Israel with a “democratic Palestinian state.” Its motion stated that Zionism “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 also called for “the establishment of a single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital, equal rights for all, and the right of return for Palestinians and their descendants.”

Critics of the proposal argue that establishing a single state across all of historic Palestine, alongside a right of return for Palestinian refugees and their descendants, could undermine Jewish self-determination and put the future of Israel as a Jewish state at risk.

“Today’s decision reflects the profound concern across the Jewish community at a policy which brands a central element of Jewish identity as racist,” the Board of Deputies (BOD) announced.

“For many British Jews, the connection to Israel is expressed through religious practice, family relationships, language, culture, and the belief that the Jewish people have the same right to national self-determination as any other peoples. Declaring that connection racist has consequences for Jewish participation in public life and the treatment of Jewish communal institutions,” the organization explained.

The resolution passed by the Board of Deputies emphasized that it views any cooperation with the Green Party as “failing to take antisemitism with the requisite seriousness.” The BOD added that it “will engage with and support” any member of the party who rejects the “Zionism is racism” motion and calls for its reversal.

Earlier this month, the Israeli Foreign Ministry condemned the Green Party for equating Zionism with racism. “Today, the Green Party in Britain ceased to act as a political party and became a body that gives legitimacy to terrorism,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham condemned the Green Party’s “Zionism is racism” motion as “wrong” and “antisemitic.”

“This side of the House will have nothing to do with it,” Burnham said, adding that his government would not cooperate with the Greens due to their “descent into the most abhorrent antisemitism.”

“We will always take the right response when it comes to any partnerships we have with other parties,” he argued. “We cannot support a partnership with a party that holds the position that has recently been adopted.”