Sultana and Corbyn clash over Zionism at rift-ridden Your Party conference

Zarah Sultana, co-founder of the far-left Your Party, used her speech at the party’s turbulent first-ever conference to call for the end of the “genocidal apartheid state of Israel”.

Addressing 2,500 activists in Liverpool, the former Labour MP declared: “We must sever all ties with the genocidal apartheid state of Israel.

“We must expel the ambassador and shut down the embassy, and stand with the Palestinian people until every inch of their land is free, from the river to the sea.”

Sultana added: “I am an anti-Zionist and if we fight for it, Your Party will be an anti-Zionist party.”

The two-day event exposed deep divisions between Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn. The former Labour leader faced claims from some activists that his support for the Palestinian cause was not hardline enough, and that he had failed to commit strongly to anti-Zionism.

Opponents of Sultana have accused her of seeking to undermine Corbyn by appealing to a purist vision of what a socialist party should be.

Footage emerged online of Corbyn being confronted by activists who suggested he was too weak on Zionism.

He replied: “I’m fed up with being painted into a corner of being seen as a pro-Zionist”, adding, “What do you think I’ve been doing with my life?”

Speaking at the conference, Corbyn said: “As a party, we’ve got to come together and be united, because division and disunity will not serve the interests of the people that we want to represent.”

He also called for “public, democratic ownership” of the water industry and then led a chant of “free, free Palestine.”

On the first day of the conference, Corbyn was even accused of conducting his own “witch hunt”—a term previously used by Labour activists expelled from that party over antisemitism claims—when delegates arriving at the Your Party conference were refused entry due to their membership of the Trotskyist Socialist Workers Party and other far-left groups.

Since leaving Labour, Sultana has openly courted far-left support, making her opposition to Israel a central part of her appeal.

After a series of votes among delegates—both in the conference hall and online—it became clear that the pro-Sultana faction enjoyed more support than Corbyn’s camp. Corbyn, in turn, surrounded himself with familiar figures from his Labour days, including his former chief of staff, Karie Murphy.

Delegates narrowly voted—51.6% to 48.4%—in favour of the party being run by a new member-led executive, rejecting Corbyn’s preferred model of a sole leader.

The result now raises the possibility that members of the anti-Zionist SWP could join a central committee running the party, alongside other far-left factions.

Sultana welcomed this prospect, telling supporters: “The expulsions, bans and censorship on the conference floor are unacceptable.

“It’s undemocratic. It’s an attack on members and on this movement. ”

Among those to attend the event were scores of former Labour members, who had been expelled or had quit the party over alllegations involving Jew-hate.

Further rifts emerged over claims that Muslim activists with more socially conservative views on identity and sexuality were being forced out of the party by Sultana and her faction’s commitment to pro-trans ideology.

Pro-Gaza MPs Adnan Hussain and Iqbal Mohamed had left the group overseeing the project, citing a “toxic culture”—particularly towards Muslim men.

But in a move to retain the support of other pro-Gaza MPs, Ayoub Khan and Shockat Adam will join Corbyn in selecting Your Party candidates for next year’s local elections.

In a speech in Liverpool, Adam spoke of the impact of the pro-Palestine movement on the results at the last general election as he condemned Zionism.

He said of Your Party “the children in Gaza need this to work… we must unite, we have the power to change, we must use it now before the clock stops ticking.”

Voting figures also provided new clues about the true level of support for Your Party. Leaders had initially claimed that over 800,000 people had shown interest in a new left-wing party.

More recently, it was suggested that the party had around 55,000 members.

When votes were held at the conference—including on the decision to continue calling the party ‘Your Party’—it was confirmed that 21,035 people had completed registration to allow them to cast a ballot, either inside the venue or online.

Meanwhile, when the conference was first announced in October, it was claimed that 13,000 delegates would be in attendance.

Ultimately, 2,500 people were present inside the Liverpool ACC venue for the conference on Saturday and Sunday.

These figures suggest Your Party has a long way to go before it can compete with the increasingly left-wing Green Party under Zack Polanski’s leadership.

For the Jewish community, this raises the prospect of two far-left parties competing to take harder-line anti-Zionist positions to satisfy activists also involved with Trotskyist and Stalinist groups.