What happened
Zack Polanski and the "Zionism is Racism" motion
On 4 October 2026 the Green Party of England and Wales, led by Zack Polanski, voted by 1,022 to 813 to declare that Zionism is racism. Polanski did not vote. Three days later the party was referred to the Equality and Human Rights Commission over the motion. On 9 October Polanski lost the Holborn and St Pancras by-election to Labour, by 8,928 votes to 12,292.
You can't be anti-racist and antisemitic.
Zionism is anti-racism.
The record, day by day
: The Green Party votes that Zionism is racism, and its leader does not vote
At its autumn conference at the Brighton Centre, the Green Party of England and Wales passed the "Zionism is Racism" motion by 1,022 votes to 813. The motion declares the Greens an anti-Zionist party. Zack Polanski, the party's leader, skipped the vote.
Source: Jewish Telegraphic Agency
: The Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council condemn the motion, and Polanski
In a joint statement the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council called the motion "an attack on the Jewish community" and "an antisemitic platform". Of Zack Polanski they said: "These are not the actions of a leader, but a bystander."
Source: Board of Deputies of British Jews; The statement in full
: The Movement for Progressive Judaism says the Green Party has become "a racist party"
The Movement for Progressive Judaism said the motion "is antisemitic in its formulation and intention" and that, by adopting it, "the Green Party has made antisemitism party policy and become a racist party". It called on the party to reverse the policy.
Source: Movement for Progressive Judaism; The statement in full
: The Chief Rabbi calls the motion "poisonous antisemitism"
Emerging from the festival of Simchat Torah that night, the Chief Rabbi said he was "appalled" that the Green Party had passed the motion. "It was the Soviet Union which first promoted the dangerous lie that Zionism is racism," he wrote. "All decent people will see this for what it is: poisonous antisemitism, a threat to British Jews and to Britain."
: The Green Party is referred to the Equality and Human Rights Commission over the motion
The Campaign Against Antisemitism referred the Green Party to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, asking it to investigate whether the party has discriminated against Jewish members contrary to the Equality Act 2010. Seventeen Labour MPs wrote to the Commission's chair asking it to consider whether the party has broken the law.
Source: Campaign Against Antisemitism; Jewish News
: Zack Polanski loses the Holborn and St Pancras by-election
Green Party leader Zack Polanski lost the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, five days after his party declared that Zionism is racism. Labour's Sagal Abdi-Wali won with 12,292 votes to his 8,928.
Source: HuffPost UK
: Activists behind the motion plot to have Caroline Lucas thrown out of the party
The Telegraph reported WhatsApp messages in which members of Greens for Palestine, the group behind the motion, shared advice on complaining to the party's disciplinary panel about Caroline Lucas, the party's first MP and twice its leader, who had called the motion "dangerous", "divisive" and "flawed from top to bottom". "Lucas needs to be removed," one wrote. A template letter of complaint has been created, the paper reported.
Source: The Telegraph
: The Greens take back a councillor suspended for sharing an antisemitic video
Nine days after the vote, the Green Party lifted the suspension of Mohammed Suleman, Newcastle city councillor for Arthur's Hill, suspended before May's elections for reposting a TikTok video that described Jews as "ungrateful, merciless, and without love". The Newcastle Green group said he "knows he has been in the wrong". His return makes the Greens the second-largest party on Newcastle City Council, with 24 councillors.
Source: The Jewish Weekly
Questions people ask
Did Zack Polanski vote for the "Zionism is Racism" motion?
No. He skipped the vote. The motion passed at the Green Party's conference in Brighton on 4 October 2026 by 1,022 votes to 813, while he was the party's leader, and it is now Green Party policy.
Did Zack Polanski win the Holborn and St Pancras by-election?
No. On 9 October 2026, five days after his party declared that Zionism is racism, Labour's Sagal Abdi-Wali won the Holborn and St Pancras by-election with 12,292 votes to his 8,928.
Has the Green Party been reported to the Equality and Human Rights Commission?
Yes. On 7 October 2026 the Campaign Against Antisemitism referred the Green Party to the Equality and Human Rights Commission over the motion, asking it to investigate whether the party has discriminated against Jewish members contrary to the Equality Act 2010. Seventeen Labour MPs wrote to the Commission's chair asking it to consider whether the party has broken the law.
What does the motion say?
It declares the Green Party an anti-Zionist party, says Zionism "will be treated as any other form of racism", rejects the IHRA and JDA definitions of antisemitism as "weaponised" and backs one state in all of historic Palestine. Every clause is quoted, with our response, at zionismisnotracism.co.uk/the-motion.
Is Zionism racism?
No. Zionism is the belief that Jewish people, like the French, the Irish or the Palestinians, have the right to a homeland of their own. Calling that belief racism singles out one people, the Jews, for a rule applied to no one else. The full answer, with the law and the sources, is at zionismisnotracism.co.uk/is-zionism-racism.
What is this campaign asking the Green Party to do?
To reverse the motion and say in public that Zionism is not racism. Green councillors are being asked to say where they stand, and every one of them is listed, with their position, at zionismisnotracism.co.uk/the-partys-over.
Where Green councillors stand
Every sitting Green councillor in England and Wales is on the register, each with their own page. 47 put their names to the motion as supporters. 6 have signed the pledge that Zionism is not racism. 2 have left the party over it. The rest have no public position recorded.
Ask your Green councillors where they stand The accountability register