Polanski indicates support for Green’s ‘Zionism Is Racism’ motion

Zack Polanski has indicated he will support a “Zionism is racism” motion set to be debated at the Green Party’s Spring Conference next month.

Pressed on his stance regarding the controversial motion—which, if passed, would end the party’s support for Israel—the Green Party leader said  “if the definition of Zionism is what is happening right now by the Israeli government then yes, absolutely, that’s racist, and I’ll vote for it.”

It would be almost unthinkable for party members backing the move to declare support for a Jewish state as racist not to also voice total opposition to the policies of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government using the same term.

When asked directly whether he would vote for the motion, he told Times Radio: “I’ll wait to hear the debate, but absolutely, if the definition of Zionism is what is happening right now by the Israeli government, then yes, absolutely, that’s racist, and I’ll vote for it.”

He added, “I can give you some different definitions of Zionism, and we can talk about whether they’re racist or not. If we’re talking about the definition that this Israeli government is clearly perpetrating through a genocide in Gaza, then yes, absolutely. That’s racist.”

Polanski’s comments come days before a by-election in the Greater Manchester constituency of Gorton and Denton, where the Greens have been accused of using the Gaza issue to gain votes.

Prior to becoming Greens leader he had previously said he was a supporter of Israel and of Zionism when he spoke at events, including at the JW3 community centre in north London.

Audio from a London Assembly hustings event when Polanski was a Liberal Democrat candidate has him saying a vote for him is a vote for the Jewish community and for Israel.

Jewish News revealed that Polanski has faced mounting pressure to support the motion from a new group of hardline anti-Israel activists within the party.

Supporting the motion would effectively mean declaring his own mother and other members of his Jewish family—staunch supporters of Israel who have criticized pro-Palestine marches—as racists.

Appearing on Iain Dale’s LBC show last week Polanski was questioned over a motion that openly declares Zionism to be racism and demands all members share this stance.

Dale referenced a Jewish News report published earlier in the week that revealed Polanski’s mother, sister, and other family members had made their pro-Zionist views clear, attending demonstrations and supporting Jewish organisations, especially after October 7.

“If this motion passed at your conference, your mother and sister—who have been openly pro-Israel—would be cast as racist,” Dale said to him.

“As leader of the Green Party, you can’t possibly want that to happen, can you?” he added.

Polanski responded, “I am equivocating, actually, and I’m openly equivocating.”

In a separate interview on Tuesday Polanski defended his description of the conflict in Gaza as “genocide,” a term he claimed the Labour Government was “enabling.”

He told the Press Association: “What happened on October 7 was absolutely outrageous and a horrific attack. And nothing justifies what Israel has done for the last couple of years.

“That, again, our Government is not just complicit in, but actively enabling. We could certainly stop our role in this by stopping the sale of arms to Israel, by stopping sharing intelligence, and making sure that we’re speaking with one voice. It’s time to end the genocide.”