Polanski to amend ‘zionism is racism’ policy

GREEN Party leader Zack Polanski said today he was not going to try to overturn his party’s new “zionism is racism” policy, but did want to amend it. In recent days he has come under increasing pressure not only from supporters of the motion to his party’s conference as well as detractors both inside and outside the Green Party of England Wales. Appearing on BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, Mr Polanski made clear the policy would remain in place, but signalled change could be afoot when it is opened for debate again in two years time. He said: “I’m not going to try and overturn it. At the first available opportunity, I do want to amend it. “I want to move away from one state towards saying that Israelis and Palestinians should decide that future for themselves.” But he also said that zionism in its current form is racist, that no country has a right to exist and that the Green Party motion on the issue was not controversial. His comments come as the motion’s author, Lubna Speitan revealed she had faced a barrage of hate-filled social media comments since its adoption, including rape and death threats. Speaking to Al Jazeera, the artist who has lost 56 members of her family since Israel launched its bloody assault on Gaza three years ago said “these threats were anticipated,” but insisted facing down the pro-Israel lobby had been “necessary to confront these evils.” Defending the motion, she said: “Zionism is defined clearly as an ethnonationalist settler-colonial project. The motion also recognises, correctly, that not all Jews are zionists and not all zionists are Jews. “It targets an ideology: zionism.” Speaking after an appearance at the SNP conference in Aberdeen, Scottish Green co-leader Gillian Mackay made clear that no such motion would be debated at her own party’s conference in Inverness next week. “I don’t think the conversation at that point is helpful because it focuses on definitions rather than actually focusing on how we achieve peace for the region,” she said. On that definition of zionism as racism, she added: “I don’t think anybody can look at what’s happening in Gaza and the West Bank at the moment and not see that the realisation of that political ideology is racist. “It’s resulted in the displacement of millions of Palestinians, the deaths of thousands of Palestinians, and I don’t think anybody looking at the situation objectively could come to any other conclusion.” As trade unions and anti-austerity activists demand substantive change, Labour is warned it must heed the call or face ‘concerted’ national action from an energised wider left Jewish Voice for Liberation, however, praises the Green Party leader's stance and for showing that ‘Jews are not one homogeneous bloc’