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Polanski sparks anger after declaring himself ‘anti-Zionist’ at packed communal hustings
Green Party's Holborn and St Pancras by-election candidate is booed and heckled
Zack Polanski has publicly declared himself an “anti-Zionist” for the first time at a heated communal hustings ahead of the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, sparking a strong and angry reaction from much of the audience.
All candidates from the Green Party, Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat, and Reform UK were asked whether they identified as Zionists. Polanski responded candidly: “I am an anti-Zionist, which I know is difficult for people to hear in this room.”
Faced with heckles and the pointed question, “Where do the Jews go?”, Polanski asserted that Israel’s right to self-determination “relies on the displacement and genocide of the Palestinian people,” prompting further boos from the audience.
He drew further disapproval when asked whether Zionism was a form of racism.
“I think there’s a problem with definitions… It means different things to different people,” Polanski explained. “If you’re defining Zionism as a displacement genocide, which is how, in practice, Zionism has become, then that is racism.”
His answer was met with a wave of angry heckles and shouts of “shame” and “liar” from the audience.
Later, when asked about combating antisemitism, Polanski argued, “Too often criticism of the Israeli government, the occupation, what I would class as apartheid and genocide.”
Labour candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali, Conservative Ewan Cameron, Reform’s Peter Newman, and Liberal Democrat Patrick Spillman joined Polanski for the Thursday evening hustings in central London.
The event, organised ahead of the October 8 by-election—triggered by former Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s shock decision to step down as local MP—drew significant attention.
Organised by the Board of Deputies and the London Jewish Forum, the hustings saw the room packed to capacity by the time vice-president Adrian Cohen began proceedings. It was then chaired by the LJF’s Amanda Bowman.
According to betting markets, Polanski faces an uphill battle for the north London seat, with Labour’s candidate and Camden Council leader the clear favourite.
In what appeared to be a move to shore up support among those questioning the strength of his anti-Israel stance, Polanski went further than ever before—announcing himself as an “anti-Zionist” rather than the “non-Zionist” label he had previously used.
Responding to the question on Zionism, Labour’s Abdi-Wali stated: “I believe in a two-state solution,” expressing hope for a secure Israel alongside a Palestinian state.
For the Liberal Democrats, Spillman said: “Zionism is the Jewish movement for a state, and its right to exist, so yes.” Both the Reform and Conservative candidates also gave a firm “yes” when asked if they were Zionists.
Despite predictions about the likely outcome of the by-election, the audience responded particularly well to the answers from the Reform and Conservative candidates. Among those present were individuals linked to grassroots groups such as Our Fight.
Journalist Hadley Freeman brought a moment of levity, drawing laughter when she asked Polanski: “If I vote for you, will you promise to make my breasts bigger?”—a tongue-in-cheek reference to his former career as a hypnotist.
On a more serious note, the Conservative candidate was loudly applauded when, in response to a question about tackling antisemitism, he said: “We need to be accountable for the words we use. I just heard Mr Polanski referring to apartheid and genocide.
“These are explosive words. People then take those words and interpret them as statements of fact.
“This polarisation of one side as good and one side as bad is unhelpful. If you genuinely want to discuss international affairs, you must explain the context—regarding Hamas, the complexities in Palestine, the history of Gaza, the realities of democracy, and the situation in Israel after the October 7 attacks.
“Unless you provide context, these sound bites can perpetuate antisemitic behaviour and reactions.”
He added: “We sit here, and about 25 minutes away, you had four ambulances that were firebombed. You had two Jewish gentlemen attacked in broad daylight. As a community, we have to say yes, antisemitism is happening, and we need to take action to stamp it out.”
Reform’s Newman also drew applause, stating: “I don’t think antisemitism is dealt with as seriously in this country.
“It’s certainly not dealt with seriously by the media; it’s certainly not dealt with fairly by the police or the courts. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have had the hate marches. They would have been stopped.”
He added: “There is also an over-focus on events in Israel, as if that’s the only thing that matters in the world.”
Spillman, for the Liberal Democrats, added: “I think some of the most difficult conversations I’ve had, both during the May local elections and in this short period, have been with Jewish families who tell me they’re too scared to send their kids to school unattended, or who recognise the enormous pressure on their community and community groups.”
Asked about support for the proscription of Iran’s IRGC, Labour’s Abdi-Wali called the group “a threat to our security,” and said it was “absolutely paramount that government steps up, and that security agencies have their process of looking into that and making sure that we’re protecting all of our communities and our country.”
She added: “I would just remind people it was the Labour government that proscribed the IRGC.”
Polanski, meanwhile, said that while he supported banning the Iranian group, he considered the ban on Palestine Action to be “overreach” by the state.
Later, the Reform candidate drew applause and laughter as he said he backed both circumcision and kosher and halal slaughter.
“Regarding circumcision, it’s very, very minor,” he said. “It’s a long Jewish tradition… that does not affect any form of development, the sexual development, or any development of the young boy.
“So, for that, in reality, you can carry on as far as Reform are concerned.”
The Labour candidate also appeared to win over some of those in the audience when she spoke about her work on community cohesion as a council leader, encouraging relationships between Muslim and Jewish communities during times of conflict.
She also mentioned her visits to South Hampstead United Synagogue, where she spoke warmly of Rabbi Shlomo Levin.
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