At the conference in Brighton, 1,022 members voted in favour of the resolution, while 813 opposed it.
The resolution describes Zionism as a “racial nationalist political project” and adopts a policy of treating it like other forms of racism. It also reaffirms the party’s support for Palestinian self-determination, the right of return, a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel, and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
The resolution further supports the establishment of a democratic Palestinian state across the whole of historic Palestine, with equal rights for all people.
The Green Party said its opposition to Zionism should not be equated with antisemitism and stressed that it supports the rights and protection of both Palestinians and Jews.
Party leader Zack Polanski did not vote on the resolution. Four of the party’s five members of Parliament opposed it, highlighting divisions within the party over the issue. Polanski and the party leadership said there should be no contradiction between supporting Palestinian rights and protecting the rights of Jewish people.
Three major British Jewish organisations — the Board of Deputies, the Community Security Trust and the Jewish Leadership Council — had written to the party before the vote, expressing concern that the resolution could affect the safety and wellbeing of British Jews. The organisations described the move as an allegedly anti-Jewish political position.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry also strongly criticised the resolution, saying it went far beyond the boundaries of legitimate political debate. Israeli officials argued that describing Zionism as racism amounts to denying the Jewish people’s right to self-determination.
The Green Party, however, maintained that its policy is aimed at opposing racism, occupation and alleged abuses against Palestinians.