Jewish Greens chair threatens departure after Brighton passes Zionism motion

Vivien Lichtenstein, chair of the Jewish Greens, said she could leave the Green Party after members voted in Brighton to adopt a motion that labels Zionism as racism. The motion passed 1,022 votes to 813 at the party conference in July, a decision that split senior figures and drew sharp criticism from Jewish groups and Israel’s foreign ministry. Lichtenstein has said she has not yet decided but is giving the issue time and talking with colleagues.

The motion also calls for a single democratic Palestinian state covering all of historic Palestine, with Jerusalem as its capital, equal rights for all and a right of return for Palestinians and their descendants. It defines Zionism as an “ethnonationalist Jewish state” and declares it a form of racism. Lichtenstein opposed the motion from the first time she heard of it, saying it would not help Palestinians suffering in Gaza or the West Bank. Jewish organisations such as the Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council condemned the motion, arguing that Zionism is a refuge for Jews after centuries of persecution.

Party leader Zack Polanski, himself Jewish, tried to amend the motion to add protections for Jewish members and remove the single‑state language. Both amendments were defeated. Polanski left the conference early to campaign in Holborn and St Pancras, where he is a candidate in a by‑election. The Green Party has about 230,000 members, but not everyone attended the Brighton conference, so the vote may not reflect the entire membership.

Lichtenstein said she defines herself as both Zionist and anti‑Zionist depending on the definition and that the motion “crosses a line.” She is not worried about accusations that she supports Israel’s right to exist, but she sees the motion as harmful and poorly drafted, especially since it consulted some Jews but not the Jewish Greens. Her potential departure would widen the party’s internal divide and could affect its standing in the upcoming election, raising questions about how the Greens will handle the Israel‑Palestine debate going forward.