Zionism as "a form of racism".. The British Green Party adopts the classification

The British Green Party voted on Sunday to classify Zionism as "a form of racism," a move that drew criticism from organizations representing British Jews and the Israeli government, which stated that it now views the party as "an entity that legitimizes terrorism."

The party, which garnered 6% of the votes in the 2024 elections, stated that it considers Zionism to be "an ethnic nationalist political project," reiterating its call for the British Labour government to halt all arms trade deals with Israel.

The party added in a statement that the decision "reaffirms the Green Party's support for the right to self-determination and calls for the establishment of a single democratic state across historic Palestine."

Party members voted in favor of the resolution, which was presented by a group of members during the party conference in Brighton, with a majority of 1,022 votes to 813, despite opposition from several prominent figures. Party leader Zack Polanski did not cast his vote.

The discussion of the resolution dominated the conference proceedings and revealed divisions between the party's grassroots, which have expanded under Polanski's leadership, and its elected representatives in the recent elections, according to the BBC.

In her speech before the "Friends of Israel from Conservatives" association at the beginning of the week, British Prime Minister Liz Truss described herself as a "big Zionist" and a "strong supporter of Israel." What is Zionism? And what does it mean to belong to it?

The decision stated that "the actual and material embodiment of Zionism is represented in the historical and ongoing stripping of Palestinians of their humanity, their displacement, the confiscation of their properties and political rights, and their destruction."

The decision drew criticism from Jewish organizations, including the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council.

The two organizations stated in a letter they sent to the party before the vote that Zionism is a "movement against racism," adding that "modern Zionism arose partly in response to anti-Semitism, with the aim of providing a refuge for Jews in their historical homeland after thousands of years of persecution outside it."

For its part, the Israeli Foreign Ministry stated that the decision crossed "the boundaries of legitimate political debate," describing it as "a stain on the history of the United Kingdom."

Israel has called on other British political parties to condemn the decision, accusing the Green Party of having "adopted not only the green color of Hamas but also its ideology of eliminating the State of Israel through armed conflict."

Mothin Ali, the deputy leader of the Green Party and a supporter of the proposal, told Sky News on Saturday that the significant human losses among Palestinians due to the Israeli war on Gaza formed the main context for the vote.

Ali added: "The proposal clearly distinguishes Zionism; it defines it as an ethnic nationalist movement, it defines it as ethnic cleansing, and it defines it as genocide."

The British government considers the actions of Israeli settlers in the West Bank to amount to ethnic cleansing, but it states that determining whether other actions by Israel constitute genocide is up to the competent courts.

For his part, Polanski and other prominent figures in the Green Party stated that they "will continue to expose the heinous crimes committed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government," emphasizing that "there is no contradiction between supporting the rights of Palestinians and the rights of the Jewish people."

Polanski is seeking to win a parliamentary seat in a by-election on Thursday, in a London constituency that was previously represented by Prime Minister Keir Starmer before the seat became vacant.