UK Green Party Adopts Resolution Declaring Zionism Racist

The UK Green Party officially adopted a resolution on Sunday declaring "Zionism is racism" at its annual conference in Brighton. The decision passed with 1,022 members voting in favor and 813 against. This resolution makes the party's official policy the assertion that Zionism, defined as the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in their historic homeland, is racism. The move has drawn significant criticism from anti-racism organizations and pro-Israel activists who protested outside the conference center.

The resolution calls for the elimination of the State of Israel and the establishment of a single democratic Palestinian state in "all of historic Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital." It also endorses the Palestinian right to resist and liberate themselves from Israeli occupation, recognizing the right of oppressed colonial peoples to self-defense. Furthermore, it demands the removal of the organization Palestine Action from the list of prohibited organizations.

The decision has caused deep controversy and internal division within the party, overshadowing the three-day conference. Several party leaders, including former leader Caroline Lucas and deputy leader Rachel Moylward, publicly opposed the proposal, calling it problematic. The resolution's initiator, Lubna Spayten, argued that defining Zionism as racism is not a theoretical discussion.

A party spokesperson stated that "the party's positions against the occupation are a central part of its platform." The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the resolution, stating that the Green Party has "ceased to function as a political party and has become a supporter of terror." The ministry accused the party of adopting Hamas's ideology and its call for Israel's elimination through armed struggle, calling the resolution "a text that crosses the boundaries of political discourse" and "a stain on the history of the United Kingdom."