Zack Polanski was booed at a London hustings after telling British Jews that Zionism is “in practice” racism and accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
The Green Party leader, who is Jewish, described himself as an “anti-Zionist” during the event for candidates contesting the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, which is due to take place in less than two weeks.
Mr Polanski said those who label criticism of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, launched after the October 7 terror attacks, as antisemitic were putting Jewish people at greater risk.
His comments came as Green Party hardliners seek to change party policy in favour of dismantling Israel and establishing a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
Organised by the London Jewish Forum and the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the hustings saw Mr Polanski heckled when he claimed that Zionism “relies on the displacement and genocide of the Palestinian people”.
Asked whether he regarded Zionism as a form of racism, as some other Green Party members do, he replied: “I think there’s a problem with definitions. It means different things to different people.”
He added: “If you’re defining Zionism as a displacement genocide, which is how, in practice, Zionism has become, then that is racism.”
The Jewish Green Party leader described himself as an “anti-Zionist” at a hustings for candidates in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, which is being held in less than two weeks
The comments came as Green Party hardliners seek to change party policy to support dismantling Israel and creating a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital
The audience, however, applauded the Reform candidate after he said the UK failed to take antisemitism seriously and had placed “an over-focus on events in Israel, as if that’s the only thing that matters in the world”.
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According to Jewish News, Conservative candidate Ewan Cameron was also supported when he said: “We need to be accountable for the words we use. I just heard Mr Polanski referring to apartheid and genocide.”
“These are explosive words. People then take those words and interpret them as statements of fact,” he said.
“Presenting one side as entirely good and the other as entirely bad is unhelpful. If you genuinely want to discuss international affairs, you must explain the context—including Hamas, the complexities of Palestine, Gaza’s history, the realities of democracy and the situation in Israel following the October 7 attacks.
“Without that context, these sound bites can contribute to antisemitic behaviour and reactions.”
Mr Polanski is also facing a renewed effort by hardline pro-Palestinian figures in the party to pass a motion at next week’s conference titled “Zionism is Racism”. The motion calls for “a single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital”.
Written by a London-based artist who argues that Hamas should not be classified as a terrorist organisation, the motion also calls for Israel to be treated like apartheid-era South Africa.
It proposes wide-ranging 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, its author, Lubna Speitan, called for “an end to this racism and the monstrous State that has been built upon it”. She ended with the words: “Free Palestine, from the river to the sea,” a phrase that has been criticised as antisemitic.
In an interview last week, Mr Polanski, who is standing for election to the Commons the week after the conference, indicated that he would not support the motion in its current form. He described it as a “distraction” that was “not going to help”.