Chris Mason: Polanski faces greatest crisis of his leadership so far
The Green leader faces pressure over his response to a party motion declaring Zionism a form of racism, as well as his by-election loss.
By BBC News
Green Party leader Zack Polanski is facing the biggest crisis of his leadership after members backed a motion declaring Zionism a form of racism and the party suffered defeat in a London by-election.
The motion was approved at the party’s conference in Brighton by 1,022 votes to 813. It defines Zionism as an ideology supporting an “ethnonationalist Jewish state” and backs the creation of a single democratic Palestinian state across historic Palestine.
Mr Polanski did not vote on the motion. He left the conference early to campaign in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, where he stood as the Green candidate.
Before the vote, he had sought amendments to include protections for Jewish members and remove the reference to a single democratic Palestinian state. Both amendments were rejected by party members.
Four of the Green Party’s five MPs opposed the motion, exposing divisions between the party’s parliamentary representatives and its enlarged membership.
Mr Polanski said that if Zionism meant the displacement of the Palestinian people, it was “clearly racist”. He also said he would not accept anyone being excluded from the party because of the religious or communal body they belonged to.
Former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas said Mr Polanski had failed to show leadership over the motion.
The controversy came as the Greens conceded defeat in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election. The party said Mr Polanski had finished a close second to Labour.
The motion has prompted criticism from Jewish groups, Labour and Israel’s government. Israel subsequently banned Mr Polanski from entering the country.
The Green leader now faces pressure over both his handling of the conference vote and the party’s performance in the by-election.