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Green Party forced to open ‘safe room’ to protect Jewish members at Brighton conference
As Zionism is racism motion is debated on Sunday, party source confirms 'We have a phone number for a small number of people if they are worried, and a room if they would like to use it'
Tensions within Zack Polanski’s Green Party over its stance on Israel intensified last night, as it emerged the party had been compelled to organise a “safe room” for Jewish members at its annual conference.
On the eve of a controversial vote to equate Zionism with racism, rival pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators were kept apart by police outside the Brighton conference centre.
Inside, party members revealed that a room had been set aside exclusively for Jewish members who felt threatened.
“We have been given a ‘safe room’ for Jewish members to use in an emergency,” one member told the Mail on Sunday.
“It was used on the first day of the conference to host a meeting between a rabbi and some Jewish members. It’s a deeply upsetting situation, but that’s the reality.”
A Green Party source confirmed: “We have a phone number for a small number of people if they are worried, and a room if they would like to use it. They come in through a different entrance to avoid any protests at the front.”
A sign reading ‘No Access To Press’ was affixed to the outside door.
The Mail on Sunday and Jewish News have both agreed not to identify the room.
Senior Greens have criticised the motion, with former leaders Caroline Lucas and Adrian Ramsay labelling it ‘divisive’ or ‘not helpful’.
Should it pass, the Greens would become the only mainstream party in Europe to declare itself openly anti-Zionist.
Even Green Party leader Zack Polanski, currently campaigning in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, has expressed concerns about the scope of the motion, while deputy leader Rachel Millward described it as ‘problematic’ unless amended to protect Jewish members.
However, joint deputy leader Mothin’ Ali told the BBC he “absolutely” backed the motion: ‘It talks about ethnic cleansing, it talks about ethno-nationalism. Anyone who believes in that, then I think it is a racist ideology.’
Police maintained a heavy presence around the venue, as demonstrators from both sides gathered near the seafront.
“I’ve been a member of the Green Party for years, but never, ever have Jewish Greens been forced to endure a situation like this,” said a senior Jewish party source.
A security guard at the venue said they had been told to “prepare for the worst” and to conduct thorough searches of those attending the three-day conference.
The Greens also moved up the registration deadline for conference attendees, closing it on September 25 to enable organisers to conduct proper security checks. Previously, it had been possible to register on the day and enter as an “observer”.
Privately, members of the Jewish Greens group have compared the security situation to the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn, when Jewish MPs like Luciana Berger required protection from far-left antisemites.
Throughout the three-day conference, debates on Palestine featured prominently, both on the main floor and in fringe events. Saturday’s main hall debate, “Palestine: The Golden Thread that Unravelled Britain,” was chaired by Zak Khan—a party member detained by the Israeli navy after joining the Gaza flotilla—and included outspoken anti-Zionist Andrew Feinstein on the panel.
Saturday’s fringe programme was dominated by sessions on Israel and Palestine, including one on alleged “sportswashing,” while the Palestine Solidarity Campaign hosted a Justice For Palestine session.
Polanski has insisted the Green Party is “absolutely united” , despite the issue.
Asked about the motion, the Green Party leader told the BBC: “Well, this is in a context where 75,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza, 1,500 since the recent so-called ceasefire. We also know there are more child amputees than in modern history. So I think what the party is absolutely united on is recognising that we need to end the genocide; we need to stop selling arms to Israel.”
The build up to this year’s conference has been dominated by concerns over a hardline “Zionism is racism” motion which has been proposed by the Greens 4 Palestine group, and backed by numerous anti-Zionist fanatics, including disgraced academic David Miller. The group have published a 48-page booklet to distribute to party members arriving in Brighton, which includes claims that it is not antisemitic to support their motion, and why Zionism is “racist and settler-colonial ideology and practice.”
Even Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who has been sidetracked by efforts to try to become an MP at the Holborn and St Pancras by-election on October 8, has expressed fears over the scope of the “Zionism is racism” motion, which is set to be debated at the conference on Sunday.
Polanski raised the fact that some Jewish Green Party members “stand against the occupation, stand against the apartheid, and stand against the genocide” but “happen to be a member of a synagogue that calls itself a Zionist synagogue.”
He continued: “They should not be treated any differently within the Green Party. This should not be about finding Jewish people and creating a barrier or a bar of what they have to jump through to be a member of the Green Party.”
It is unclear if his call for an amendment to the motion will receive enough support from the increasingly radical party membership. Polanski’s call for a second amendment to the motion, which calls for “a single Palestinian state,” is also likely to be blocked, say insiders.
“I think there’s something impractical about a political party deciding to label what Zionism is or what exactly needs to happen as a result,” said Polanski last week as he called for both amendments to be added to the controversial motion.
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