The European Green Party (EGP) has said it “unequivocally” distances itself from the Green Party of England and Wales’s (GPEW) motion declaring Zionism a form of racism, and will “demand clarity” from the party’s leadership.
The controversial motion was passed by members at the GPEW’s conference in Brighton on Sunday by 1,022 votes to 813. It also called on the party to back a “single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine”. Zack Polanski, the leader of the GPEW since September 2025, did not take part in the vote, having left conference early to campaign in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, where he is a candidate.
In a statement published on Monday, the EGP said: “The resolution ‘Zionism is racism’ as voted yesterday goes against our agreed positions of the EGP and its member parties, therefore as EGP we unequivocally distance ourselves from it.”
The GPEW is a full member of the European Greens, which brings together Green parties from across Europe.
The EGP said it, and several of its member parties, had contacted the GPEW leadership before the vote “in order to express our deep concern about it”.
The statement reaffirmed the EGP’s support for a two-state solution, “with self-determination for both Israelis and Palestinians, grounded in recognition of Israel’s and Palestine’s equal right to exist as sovereign states”.
It added that the GPEW had “contributed to forming the position, including the two-state solution, throughout the years”.
Our statement on the recent Green Party of England and Wales motion 'Zionism is Racism'.europeangreens.eu/news/egp-pos…
— European Greens (@europeangreens.eu) 2026-10-05T15:10:24.878Z
The EGP said it condemned “in the strongest terms the genocide against Palestinians and the human rights abuses committed by the current Israeli government”, and had “consistently called for EU sanctions against Israel’s government”.
It added: “Equally, the fight against antisemitism and for human rights is an essential part of our political agenda. At a time when antisemitic incidents and violent attacks are surging, it is of utmost importance to be absolutely unambiguous on this: Jewish people must be able to live free from discrimination and violence.”
The statement noted that “many members of GPEW, including most of the MPs, have publicly spoken against the resolution”.
It also said that “less than 1 per cent of the membership voted” at the conference.
“Therefore, as EGP we will immediately demand clarity from the leadership and parliamentary group of GPEW, to understand the official party policy of GPEW, how they position themselves towards the self-determination of Israeli and Jews as well as the protection of Jewish people and members in the party”, it said.
The “Zionism is racism” motion passed on Sunday despite the opposition of senior Green figures such as Caroline Lucas and Adrian Ramsay.
Four of the Green Party’s five MPs – Ramsay, Ellie Chowns, Carla Denyer and Siân Berry – expressed public opposition to the motion before the vote.
Ramsay, who served as co-leader of the Greens from 2021 to 2025 alongside Denyer, said the motion would “be widely viewed as going against” the party’s long-held principles in a statement before the vote.
Chowns said the party risked “alienating many people, including in Jewish communities.”
She added: “Defining a highly personal and variable identity simply as racism risks reinforcing exactly the zero-sum politics we desperately need to get beyond.”
Chowns and Ramsay stood on a joint ticket in the 2025 Greens leadership election. In this contest, Polanski prevailed with 20,411 votes (84.1%) among the Green membership; Chowns and Ramsay polled 3,705 votes (15.3%).
After the conference vote on Sunday, Ramsay said he was “deeply saddened” that the motion had passed.
He added: “It doesn’t reflect Green principles or my own view.”
Ramsay signed a joint statement alongside Polanski, the party’s five MPs – including Hannah Spencer – and its deputy leaders, Rachel Millward and Mothin Ali.
The statement said: “As Greens, we will always uphold universal human rights. We will never tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment.
“We will continue to stand in opposition to genocide, ethnic cleansing, apartheid and the illegal occupation.
“We will continue to call out the heinous crimes of the Netanyahu government. And we will continue to work to ensure that the Green Party is an anti-racist party in every way.
“We know there is no conflict between supporting the rights of Palestinians and the rights of Jewish people.”
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