Polanski Vows No One Will Feel Unwelcome in Green Party as Zionism Motion Triggers Police and Watchdog Complaints

Green Party leader Zack Polanski has broken his silence over a contentious conference vote that declared Zionism a form of racism, insisting he will not tolerate any member being shut out because of their faith or community ties.

In a lengthy statement issued on Tuesday, his first public remarks since the motion passed two days earlier, Polanski said he took seriously his duty to ensure everyone felt safe and welcome within the party. He pledged that no one would be made to feel unwelcome on the basis of their background, their religion, or where they choose to worship.

The controversy stems from a policy motion debated at the party's conference in Brighton, which was carried by 1,022 votes to 813. The motion characterises Zionism as an ideology that supports what it calls an ethnonationalist Jewish state, and it throws the party's weight behind the creation of a single democratic Palestinian state across all of historic Palestine.

The text further argues that the real and material expression of Zionism has been the long-running dehumanisation, displacement, dispossession, disenfranchisement and destruction of Palestinians. Those words have proved deeply divisive, exposing a rift between the party's rapidly expanded membership under Polanski and the smaller group of MPs who won seats at the last general election.

Polanski, who is Jewish, did not participate in Sunday's ballot. Four of the party's five MPs voted against the motion, and the leadership has since faced mounting pressure from across the political spectrum. In his statement, Polanski drew a firm line between antisemitism and criticism of the Israeli state, describing the two as completely distinct and insisting they must always remain so.

He added that his party and its leadership were grounded in deeply held values of compassion, fairness and equality for all. His intervention followed a day of silence on Monday, during which he declined interview requests as criticism intensified.

The fallout has been swift and wide-ranging. Israel's foreign ministry announced it was barring Polanski from entering the country, a highly unusual move against a British party leader. Several Jewish organisations have condemned the motion as an attack on the Jewish community, and the chair of Jewish Greens has publicly suggested she could leave the party over the decision.

The domestic political reaction has been equally sharp. More than a dozen Labour MPs reported the Green Party to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the body that regulates equality law in Great Britain. Organised by former Home Office minister Mike Tapp, the group sent two letters raising concerns about whether Jewish members could participate freely and equally in the party, and whether their religious and communal affiliations might leave them open to complaints or disciplinary action.

The MPs also highlighted that amendments designed to protect Jewish members who attend Zionist synagogues had been voted down at the conference. Their letter to the watchdog argued that, taken together, these developments raised serious questions about the position of Jewish members within the Greens.

The EHRC responded by saying it would consider each complaint carefully, though it confirmed it had not opened an investigation at this stage. It noted that it publishes guidance for political parties on their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010, and that all duty-bearers, including parties, must comply with the law and take steps to avoid discrimination. The commission has previously found failings in how the Labour Party handled antisemitism, giving its involvement added significance.

Separately, nine Labour MPs have referred the Green Party to Sussex Police, asking the force to examine whether possible antisemitic offences at the conference warrant a criminal investigation. Both Sussex Police and the Green Party have been approached for comment.

The controversy has also reverberated beyond Britain's borders. The European Green Party, an umbrella body that includes the Green Party of England and Wales, issued a statement saying it wanted to unequivocally distance itself from the motion. It said it would immediately seek clarity from the party's leadership on how Jewish people and the principle of self-determination would be protected.

Within the party, Green MP Ellie Chowns told BBC Radio 4's PM programme she was deeply saddened that the motion had become official policy, though she rejected the suggestion that it was antisemitic. She described it as rooted in principled opposition to the actions of the Israeli government. Chowns also called for a review of how Green policy is made, pointing out that fewer than one per cent of the party's more than 200,000 members had taken part in the vote.

The episode lays bare the tensions facing a party that has grown rapidly in membership while its parliamentary representation remains small. Polanski's attempt to reassure members now sits alongside legal complaints, a foreign travel ban, and criticism from international Green allies, leaving the leadership to manage a dispute that shows little sign of fading.