Caroline Lucas Rebukes Zack Polanski Over Green Zionism Motion as 4 of 5 MPs Oppose It
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Oct 8
Caroline Lucas Rebukes Zack Polanski Over Green Zionism Motion as 4 of 5 MPs Oppose It
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Oct 8
Summary
Caroline Lucas said Zack Polanski "should have been there and he should have voted" on the Green motion declaring Zionism a form of racism, calling the measure dangerous, divisive and flawed.
Polanski missed Sunday’s conference vote after leaving Brighton to campaign in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, then declined interviews and has not said whether he backed the motion.
The motion is now official Green Party policy under party rules, though not automatically part of the next general-election manifesto; it also endorsed a single democratic Palestinian state across historic Palestine.
4 of the party’s 5 MPs opposed the motion, co-deputy leaders split over it, a Welsh deputy leader resigned, and the European Green Party condemned the vote.
The row has overshadowed Polanski’s by-election push and drawn pressure from Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who urged him to reverse the policy and said it undermined a two-state solution.