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Zionism - Antisemitism?

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Zack Polanski says application of Zionism is racist and no state has right to exist​

Green leader in England and Wales calls ‘debates about words’ unhelpful and denies recent motion was controversial

Kiran Stacey Policy editor
Sun 18 Oct 2026 19.38 CEST
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Zack Polanski has said 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.

The leader of the Green party in England and Wales gave an unapologetic interview to the BBC on Sunday two weeks after his party approved a motion equating Zionism with racism.

Polanski did not attend the vote, prompting accusations of a lack of leadership, but he made clear he agreed with the broad thrust of it even if he felt it was unhelpful to have what he called a “debate about semantics”.

Asked by the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg whether he thought Zionism was racist, Polanski said: “I don’t think this is actually controversial.

“What’s controversial is that 75,000 Palestinians have been murdered in the last few years, including more child amputees than ever in modern history. So when you take that to account, the fact that they’re being murdered because they’re Palestinian – that’s very obviously a racist ideology.”

He added: “I think Zionism is racism in the practical application of it. Now the conference had a debate about the motion, about the word. I said I think debates about words are unhelpful, and I still think that.”

Asked whether he believed Israel had a right to exist, Polanski, who is Jewish, said: “I don’t think any state has a right to exist under international law,” adding that the idea of a two-state solution was “for the birds” given Israel’s opposition to it.

He also insisted he had no regrets about the way he had handled the recent controversy, despite criticism from some prominent Jewish Green members, including Vivien Lichtenstein, the chair of the Jewish Greens.

Polanski said: “I’m not sorry at all. Vivien is someone I’ve had respect for and do have respect for, and partly co-founded the Jewish Greens together … Actually, when the Jewish Greens were surveyed about this motion, a majority supported it.”

In response, Lichtenstein later said: “Zack should have joined conference online, listened to the speeches for and against and, crucially, spoken for those amendments he supported, then voted.

“None of that took an inordinate amount of time. There was no excuse for his not participating.”

She also said polling of Jewish greens on the Zionism motion showed they were evenly split, contrary to Polanski’s claims.

 

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