Israel bars Green Party leader Zack Polanski after 'Zionism is racism' vote

Israel has barred the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from entering the country after the party’s annual conference voted to make opposition to Zionism official party policy.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar ordered the entry ban on Zack Polanski on Sunday, in a move Israel’s Foreign Ministry said had been “coordinated with the relevant authorities” (Haaretz; Ynetnews).

Green Party members backed the motion, titled “Zionism is racism”, by 1,022 votes to 813 at the closed conference in Brighton on Sunday (The Statesman). The policy defines Zionism as a racist ideology and commits the party to a single democratic Palestinian state across historic Palestine, reaffirming support for Palestinian self-determination, the right of return and a full arms embargo on Israel.

The Foreign Ministry said the resolution “constitutes a clear antisemitic text according to the IHRA definition, as it denies the Jewish people’s right to self-determination”, and earlier said the party had “ceased functioning as a political party and became an organization that supports terrorism” (ANews).

Polanski, who is Jewish and identifies as anti-Zionist, did not take part in the vote, having left the conference after his Friday speech to campaign in the 8 October Holborn and St Pancras by-election; he had expressed reservations about parts of the motion (Ynetnews; Leigh Journal). In a joint statement with the party’s five MPs and his deputies, he said there was “no conflict between supporting the rights of Palestinians and the rights of Jewish people”.