Jewish Greens Leader Calls for Zack Polanski to Resign Over Zionism Vote

Vivien Lichtenstein, leader of the Jewish Greens, has called for Zack Polanski to resign as leader of the Green Party of England and Wales.

The call came on 9 October, as Polanski faced sustained criticism over a conference motion equating Zionism with racism and calling for the state of Israel to be abolished. The Green Party of England and Wales voted at party conference to adopt the policy, which states that Zionism is racism and calls for Israel to be replaced by a single Palestinian state. The Guardian

Lichtenstein had already warned she was considering leaving the party after the vote. The motion drew criticism from British Jews and the Israeli government, and Israel barred Polanski, who is Jewish, from entering Israel in response to the vote. Reuters

Speaking to Times Radio, Lichtenstein said Polanski should have spoken and voted online for amendments to the motion. That was an option. She called his failure to do so a big mistake. She also said she did not know which Jewish party members Polanski had been working with. It certainly had not been with the Jewish Greens committee.

Asked directly whether Polanski should continue in his role, she replied: "No, I think he should resign."

Polanski was not at the conference on Sunday when the motion was debated. He was campaigning in the Holborn and St Pancras byelection. He finished second to Labour. Labour won the seat. The result was reported on 9 October. The Guardian

Polanski said he would have voted against the motion had he attended. Two amendments he supported were voted down, including one calling for a two-state solution rather than a single Palestinian state. In a BBC Breakfast appearance after the byelection, he described the motion as imperfect and said he would have voted for an amended version. He sidestepped a question about whether he thinks Zionism is racism.

Former leader Caroline Lucas criticised Polanski for missing the debate and vote. Speaking to Newsnight before the byelection result, she said Polanski "should have been there and he should have voted" and should have been a strong critic of the motion. Lucas called the motion flawed, dangerous and divisive, saying it tries to have a singular definition of Zionism. Asked whether Polanski should stand down, she withheld full support. The jury is out, she said. See what happens in the coming days and weeks.

Former co-leader Jonathan Bartley, now a councillor in Lambeth, called on Polanski to "put his hands up" and apologise. He described the vote as a failure of leadership from Polanski and cited toxicity in the party.

Polanski has vowed to stay on as leader as criticism has mounted. BBC There is no formal mechanism for ejecting a Green leader. Leaders are re-elected every two years. Polanski took over in September 2025 and will have to go before party members again in less than a year.

The broader context here is a collision between conference sovereignty and leadership authority. Green leaders do not control conference policy, but they are expected to shape its direction and absorb its political cost. Polanski attempted to do the first at a distance, backing amendments for a two-state position, and is now absorbing the second without having been in the room. For an expert audience, the variables to watch are procedural and electoral. Procedurally, the absence of a removal mechanism pushes any reckoning toward the next leadership election. Electorally, a second-place finish in Holborn and St Pancras denies critics a clear triumph narrative and gives Polanski a performance argument, even as senior figures question his handling of a policy with foreign-policy and communal repercussions.