Israel Bars Green Party Leader After Antisemitic Resolution

Israel has banned Zak Polanski, the leader of the UK's Green Party, from entering the country following a party conference resolution that equated Zionism with racism. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced the decision on Sunday evening, hours after the resolution passed. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the resolution as "explicitly antisemitic text" and stated that the entry ban for Polanski was "just the first step." The ministry further asserted that the Green Party had adopted Hamas's ideology, including the destruction of Israel through armed struggle.

Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog called the party's decision "disgraceful," emphasizing that "Zionism is the national liberation movement of the Jewish people" and forms the basis of their right to a state in the Land of Israel. The resolution, which passed with 1022 votes to 813, declared that Zionism would be "treated as any other form of racism" and committed the party to supporting "a single democratic Palestinian state on the entire territory of historic Palestine."

Polanski himself did not vote on the resolution, as he is running for Parliament in a London constituency. He is also among at least three out of five Green Party MPs who opposed the resolution, issuing a joint statement with them that affirmed no conflict exists between supporting Palestinian rights and the rights of the Jewish people. A spokesperson for the Green Party acknowledged a "serious and deeply concerning debate" among members.

Earlier, Polanski had described the "displacement and genocide of the Palestinian people" as "blatant racism." This statement comes amid UN investigators accusing Israel of "genocide" during the Gaza war, an accusation Israel rejects.

Reactions from other British parties were swift. Bridget Phillipson, Chair of the Labour Party, condemned the Green Party's vote as "disgraceful" and criticized them for condemning British Jews who support Israel's right to exist. The Conservative Party's Chris Philp called the Green Party "toxic to its core" and stated that British Jews should not have to abandon their belief in Jewish self-determination to be accepted by a political party.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews expressed alarm, stating the resolution incites "anti-Jewish hatred" following a year of violence against the community in the UK. Leaders from Jewish communal organizations had previously warned the party that the resolution represented an "explicitly antisemitic political platform."

Euronews noted recent antisemitic incidents in the UK, including attacks on synagogues and individuals, and a foiled terror plot targeting the Jewish community. The Community Security Trust recorded 1,926 antisemitic incidents in the first half of 2024.