Jewish former members to sue Green Party over ‘Zionism is Racism’ policy

Jewish members of the Green Party have indicated that they plan to sue it for discrimination in an attempt to force it to strike down the “Zionism is Racism” policy adopted earlier this month.

As reported by The Telegraph¸ the Campaign Against Antisemitism is helping to organise and fund the lawsuit, which will argue that by passing the motion, the Green party is in breach of the Equality Act 2010. The members in question are reportedly not seeking financial compensation, but rather a ruling which would oblige the party to change its policy. CAA has also reported the Green party to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), echoing a similar report it made in 2019 against the Labour party, which was then led by Jeremy Corbyn.

At the Green party conference in Brighton on 4 October, members present not only passed a motion claiming that Zionism was racism, but also expressly defeated a motion designed to protect Jewish green party members who attend Synagogues.

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When asked about the Green party vote on Wednesday in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Andy Burnham described the new policy as “antisemitic” and ruled out any coalition with the Greens after the next general election.

In response, Zack Polanski, the leader of the Green Party said that he was “the only Jewish leader of a political party. I’m a victim of antisemitism every day and I’ve made it clear Jewish people are welcome in my party”. Polanski declined to take a public position on the “Zionism is Racism” motion and was not in attendance at Green party conference when the motion – to its amendments, were voted on. While Polanski had returned to London to campaign in a by-election – which he subsequently lost – the Greens offered remote voting capability, meaning that he could still have voted despite not being physically present in the conference hall at that time.

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The Telegraph also reported that it was aware of a number of Jewish people who have left the Green Party since the motion was passed ten days ago. Others have stayed, but have described themselves as “petrified”, with still others saying that “vexatious complaints” had already been made towards them by other members.

On Thursday, Labour announced that its local groups would be writing to their Green counterparts, asking them to publicly disavow their party’s “Zionism is Racism” motion and to call on Polanski to seek to reverse it. It is understood that a failure by the Greens to do so will result in the termination of any current local government coalitions between Labour and the Greens.

Gideon Falter, the chief executive of the CAA, said: “We are aware that there are Jews and Zionists who have quit or are forced to consider leaving the Green Party due to the adoption of this policy and other acts of discrimination that may have taken place within the party.

“Where action can be taken, it has always been our policy to pursue litigation against those who discriminate and we would do so here, providing litigation funding, an expert legal team, and indemnification against adverse costs. The Green Party has acted appallingly and we fully intend to ensure that it faces the consequences of its actions.”