Greens Divided After Small Conference Vote on Zionism and Palestine
Ellie Chowns, the Green Party leader in the House of Commons, said on 10 October 2026 that the party must avoid capture by extremists and racists, after members voted to describe Zionism as racism and to support a single Palestinian state instead of a two-state solution. The Guardian Zionism here means support for Israel as a Jewish state. A two-state solution means separate states for Israelis and Palestinians, while a single state means one shared state.
Chowns spoke in an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Saturday. She said the policy does not speak for most Green members or most people in the country. The motion passed at the annual party conference with just over 1,000 votes, about 0.4% of total membership. A small conference turnout set party policy, while senior parliamentarians say it lacks wider agreement.
The motion saying Zionism was racism was put forward by activists. BBC It was listed as Motion E2, alongside Motion E3 on building a consensus in support for Palestinian liberation, according to a Jewish Greens briefing published on 2 October. Jewish Greens officers had published a statement in February 2026 urging members to vote against the proposal. The party website carries a page titled 'Green Party adopts anti-Zionist policy' published on 4 October 2026. The Cambridge Green Party published a separate statement titled 'Statement on the Zionism is Racism Policy' in October 2026.
Chowns lost a co-leadership contest against Zack Polanski in 2025. She called Polanski's lack of leadership over the Zionism motion clear and disappointing. Polanski lost to Labour in the Holborn and St Pancras byelection on Friday with just under 33% of the vote. He said he intends to remain as Green leader despite calls to stand down, including from the chair of the Jewish Greens. The party normally holds leadership elections every two years, with the next election due in summer 2027. Asked about extremists and racists in the party, Chowns said she did not know. BBC Attention has also turned to deputy leader Mothin Ali, who after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks called for an end to white supremacist European settler colonialism.
The broader context here is a party trying to balance member votes, credibility in Parliament, and growth with voters at the same time. A small share of members can set binding policy. Elected leaders must then defend that policy, distance themselves from it, or try to change it. Chowns has chosen public distance without a formal challenge. Polanski has chosen to keep the policy without concession.
Looking at what this means for the Greens, problems could come from two sides. Public disagreement from the Commons leader weakens clarity on Israel-Palestine, a subject where exact wording carries legal and diplomatic weight. Keeping or enforcing the policy could deepen a split inside, especially with Jewish members whose affiliated group opposed E2 since February. The summer 2027 leadership vote gives both sides a timetable. Until then, the open question is whether the party uses its own conference rules to revisit E2 or keeps a policy set by 0.4% as its national position.
