Green Party activists criticise ‘inexperienced’ Polanski over antisemitism row

Green Party campaigners have openly criticised “inexperienced” Zack Polanski, admitting his incendiary comments on antisemitism are costing the party support in a key London council days before local elections.

Outside the busy Queens Park Farmers Market in Brent, north-west London, on Sunday, a Green Party candidate in the ward warned that Polanski was “too inexperienced to be doing what he is doing”.

Concerns were raised to the campaigners about Polanski’s stance regarding attacks on the Jewish community and his position on Israel.

One candidate, who identified himself as Jewish, said Polanski should focus on the party-building role he was elected to do as leader and avoid making incendiary comments on antisemitism. Asked if Polanski had become a liability for the Greens, he replied, “I agree with you.”

He stressed that, due to the Green Party’s decentralised structure, a vote for the party in Brent did not equate to support for Polanski. “He might try to use it,” he said, if the Greens manage a landmark victory in long-time Labour-controlled Brent on 7 May. “But we are not beholden to Polanski in any way.”

A female Green Party activist acknowledged Polanski was turning people away from the party, although she remained optimistic: “We will still do well next week,” she said.

A third campaigner also distanced herself from Polanski. When asked about the party’s vetting failures that have allowed antisemitic candidates to stand, she said, “Our record is not like that. We have the highest standards in Brent Greens, and we have proper vetting procedures.”

However, critics note that Brent Greens have welcomed several former Labour councillors, some of whom were deselected by Labour over concerns about antisemitism. Last December, Jewish News reported that four of the five Brent councillors brought into the Greens by Polanski as part of a “surge” had already been deselected by Labour. All five backed the controversial campaign to twin Brent with the West Bank city of Nablus.

Meanwhile, Labour is facing a challenge to retain control of the council. In Queens Park ward, Labour candidate Neil Nerva, a prominent member of the Jewish Labour Movement, was also seen campaigning outside the market, supported by Labour minister and local MP Georgia Gould. Nerva said he had vocally opposed the Nablus twinning as a council cabinet member and claimed Brent Labour had removed most supporters of the move ahead of the election, following community anger and a speech by Brondesbury Park Rabbi Baruch Levin.

Queens Park remains home to a sizable Jewish community within the diverse borough.

The Green Party was approached for comment.