Greens at war over Gaza as Polanski struggles to stop activists pushing for destruction of Israel

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 09:48 EDT, 22 September 2026 | Updated: 10:54 EDT, 22 September 2026 Zack Polanski had pleaded with Green activists to water down a policy calling for the destruction of Israel as he struggles to keep a lid on hardline pro-Palestinian elements in his party.The Green leader hit out at a motion to be presented at the party conference next week called 'Zionism is Racism', which advocates for 'a single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital'.Penned by a London-based artist who says Hamas should not be deemed a terrorist organisation, it also calls for Israel to be treated like Apartheid-era South Africa.It wants broad boycotts and sanctions, claiming: 'Zionism has created and seeks to maintain – and where possible – expand, an apartheid regime between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.'In a pamphlet accompanying the motion, author Lubna Speitan called for 'an end to this racism and the monstrous State that has been built upon it', signing off by saying: 'Free Palestine, from the river to the sea,' a phrase that has been criticised as anti-Semitic.In an interview this week, Mr Polanski, who is seeking election to the Commons in Holborn and St Pancras on the eve of the conference, suggested he would not back the plan in its current form, branding it a 'distraction' that is 'not going to help'.'There's a line in it that talks about a single Palestinian state. Now, I think there's something quite imperial about this for the British government or indeed the Green Party of England and Wales to decide what the future settlement of Palestine and Israel looks like,' the party leader told a Zeteo UK event at the Barbican in London.'I think my job as leader of the Green Party, the Green Party's job is to demand justice and equality both for Palestinians and Israelis.'The Green leader hit out at a motion which advocates for 'a single democratic Palestinian State in all of historic Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital' In a pamphlet accompanying the motion, author Lubna Speitan called for an end to 'this racism and the monstrous State that has been built upon it'He also suggested it needed better protection for Jews who criticise Israel, adding: 'As a Jewish person who's shown solidarity with the Palestinian people. I would hope that our Green Party conference shows solidarity with Jewish people.'And actually within that motion, if you can say very clearly and explicitly this motion safeguards Jewish people and what it means by that is if someone stands against the occupation, stands against the apartheid, stands against the genocide, but happens to be a member of a synagogue that calls itself a Zionist synagogue, they should not be treated any different within the Green Party.'This should not be about, should definitely not be about, finding Jewish people and creating a barrier or a bar ... they have to jump through in order to be a member of the Green Party.'The motion, tabled by Ms Speitan with the support of Greens for Palestine, says that Zionism is responsible for 'historic and ongoing dehumanisation, displacement, dispossession, disenfranchisement and destruction of Palestinians ... based upon European settler-colonial systems of domination and oppression'.It added: 'Rejecting Zionism and supporting the liberation of the Palestinian people is not discriminatory against Jewish people. 'Nor is it discriminatory to support the establishment of a single democratic Palestinian State between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean Sea with equal rights for all. 'Zionism is fundamentally incompatible with anti-racist principles, equality and justice.'It seeks to have the Greens declare themselves an anti-Zionist party and support 'the establishment of a single democratic Palestinian State in all of historic Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital, equal rights for all, and the right of return for Palestinians and their descendants'.It also calls for 'broad boycotts and ... divestment initiatives against Israel similar to those applied to South Africa in the apartheid era' backed by the UK Government, which last week brought in sanctions over West Bank settlements. A similar bid to change party policy was made at the Greens' spring conference, backed by the party’s deputy leader Mothin Ali. But it failed to pass after Green members opposed to it managed to time-out the process at an event also marred by factional infighting and technical problems.