UK Green Party Activists' Anti-Semitic Remarks Exposed

A report by the British newspaper The Telegraph has revealed private messages from UK Green Party activists containing severe anti-Semitic hate speech and conspiracy theories targeting Jewish institutions. The messages, shared in a WhatsApp group called "Greens for Palestine," raise serious questions about the party's handling of anti-Semitism, particularly given that its leader, Zac Polanski, frequently speaks out against Israel. One of the most inflammatory statements described Jewish people as "vermin on the face of the earth." Another participant collectively accused Jews of harming children, writing that they "murder, bomb, and starve" them. These remarks were not directed at specific individuals or actions but attributed grave offenses to the entire Jewish population. Other messages discussed the arson of four ambulances belonging to the Jewish rescue organization Hatzolah in Golders Green, North London. Instead of viewing this as an attack on a Jewish community service, one participant claimed it was a "false flag operation," a term used to describe actions attributed to one party but allegedly carried out by another to deceive the public. According to the report, a Green Party candidate for city council also shared similar claims on social media. Such allegations are particularly serious when directed at a community already facing threats and attacks, as they cast suspicion on the victims themselves rather than condemning the violence and seeking those responsible. The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, a British organization, reacted strongly, stating their lawyers are reviewing the remarks and describing the group's discourse as "straight out of Nazi Germany." The organization warned that some posts might constitute criminal offenses. The revelations have also prompted scrutiny of the Green Party's internal management and its ability to monitor its members amid concerns about rising anti-Semitic rhetoric in British political spheres. The fact that these comments were made in a private group does not diminish their severity, especially when they include generalizations against Jews and the spread of conspiracy theories following an attack on a Jewish institution. The Green Party responded, according to further reports, by stating that the comments do not represent their views. However, this incident adds to a broader controversy surrounding the party's stance on Israel and Zionism. Zac Polanski, who is Jewish, has been a vocal critic of Israeli policy. In recent years, internal debates within the party about Israel, the Gaza war, and the definition of Zionism have intensified. Concurrently, criticism has been leveled against candidates and activists linked to anti-Semitic statements or the dissemination of anti-Jewish conspiracy theories. In October, the controversy escalated when the party adopted a policy at its conference defining Zionism as racism and supporting a single Palestinian state across all of historic Palestine. This decision drew opposition from British Jewish organizations, who argued it undermined the identity of many Jews and their right to national self-determination. On October 25, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the main representative body of the UK's Jewish community, declared the Green Party a racist party following the policy adoption, with a vote of 118 in favor and one against. The Green Party leadership rejects these accusations, asserting that the policy targets Zionism, not Jewish people because of their Judaism. The distinction between criticism of the Israeli government and anti-Semitism is a central issue in British public discourse. However, statements attributing murderous acts to Jews as a group, describing them as vermin, or implying they stage attacks on their own institutions go beyond political criticism and raise serious concerns about the spread of anti-Jewish hatred. The publications thus pose a question that extends beyond the political debate on Israel: can the party decisively confront anti-Semitic remarks among its activists, even those associated with pro-Palestinian activism, or does the political struggle over Israel and Gaza impede its ability to draw a clear line against hostile discourse towards Jews? Polanski himself lost his bid for a parliamentary seat in Holborn and St Pancras, London, in early October, with Labour candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali winning by a significant margin, a defeat that occurred amidst public controversy surrounding the party's policy on Zionism.