Polanski Seeks Greater Control After Greens Declare Zionism Is Racism

Zack Polanski has proposed internal rule reforms to give Green Party leaders greater control over strategic direction. He made the appeal in an article published in The Guardian on Sunday, on October 11, 2026, one week after party members voted to define Zionism as racism. Al Jazeera

The proposal follows the Green Party's annual conference vote on October 4. Members passed a motion declaring Zionism is racism. The motion called for Palestinian liberation, the right of return, BDS, and a full arms embargo against Israel. The adopted policy was described as calling for Israel to be replaced by a single Palestinian state. The Guardian The party published the decision on its website under the title 'Green Party adopts anti-Zionist policy'.

Polanski did not participate in the vote on the Zionism motion. He said his priority was the Holborn and St Pancras by-election. Labour won the parliamentary seat vacated by former leader Keir Starmer on Friday, defeating the Green Party challenge. Polanski said he would stay on as Green Party leader after conceding defeat. Israel barred Polanski from entering after his party backed the motion.

The conference vote drew criticism from British Jews and the Israeli government. Reuters Opposition inside the party had been public for months. Jewish Greens officers published a statement in February 2026 urging members to vote against the motion 'Zionism is Racism'. That motion had been scheduled for a vote at the Spring 2026 conference. By October, the proposals were designated as Motion E2 'Zionism is Racism' and Motion E3 'Building a Consensus in Support for Palestinian Liberation', according to a Jewish Greens briefing on October 2.

Polanski was elected leader of the Green Party in September 2025. He had served as Deputy Leader in September 2024. Under his leadership the party pushed for legalisation of all drugs and sought to sharpen its economic message. Polanski said the party's message to Rachel Reeves was 'cut bills, tax billionaires', including moving policy costs off bills. Labour governs nationally under Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

The broader context here is a structural tension common to member-led parties. Conference remains sovereign over policy in the Greens. A leader can set tone and campaign priorities but cannot block motions passed by members. Polanski's request for greater control over strategic direction would test how far that model can stretch.

Looking at what this means for the Greens, two pressures now intersect. One is electoral. The Holborn and St Pancras result denied Polanski a Westminster seat widely seen as a test of Green momentum under his leadership. The other is definitional. A party that seeks to present itself as a home for progressive voters must decide how conference positions on Israel and Palestine travel beyond the hall. Critics cited by Reuters see exclusion. Supporters of the motions see consistency on Palestinian liberation, return, boycott and arms policy. The leadership question is whether a rule change can reconcile those audiences without curtailing the internal democracy that distinguishes the party.