Mothin’ Ali endorses controversial Zionism motion as Greens head for major split over ‘racism’ claim

Greens deputy leader Mothin’ Ali has declared his support for the controversial “Zionism is racism” motion to be debated at the party’s autumn conference on Sunday, as the row over the claim threatens to cause a major split within the party.

In interviews with the BBC and Sky TV, the elected Leeds City councillor said he would “absolutely” be backing the motion proposed by hardline anti-Zionist activists when it is voted on in the Brighton Centre on Sunday.

He claimed: “It talks about genocide, it talks about ethnic-cleansing, it talks about ethno-nationalism. Anyone who believes in that—I think that is a racist ideology.”

Meanwhile, Greens leader Zack Polanski has struggled to take a stance on the motion, instead calling for two amendments to be added, including one protecting the safety of Jewish Greens.

In more definitive stances, former Greens leaders Caroline Lucas and Adrian Ramsay both rejected the motion as divisive for the party membership.

Multiple sources at the Greens conference suggested Ali would use the row over the Zionism definition to mount a challenge to Polanski as leader.

He denied the claims when asked by the BBC, insisting, “Polanski is my friend and has my support.”

Earlier, in a conference speech, Ali suggested the Green Party was now tolerant of all views. He said: “Losing a vote does not make the person who beat you your enemy.”

“And winning does not give you permission to humiliate the people who disagreed with you. That is not the Green way.”

“And being good at disagreement must never mean tolerating racism, misogyny, homophobia, or intimidation inside our own movement.”

But Ali’s support for the “Zionism is racism” motion led to concerns that hundreds of Jewish Green members could be tarnished with the racist label if they did not renounce Israel.

The deputy leader appeared as a special guest on a panel event, where he clashed with Jewish News.

Responding to claims that the Green Party was under attack from an alliance of Israel, big business, and the media, Ali pointed the finger at this newspaper.