Board of Deputies declares Green Party a racist party

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 25 Oct, 18:31 · Archive

The Board of Deputies of British Jews has voted to declare the Green Party of England and Wales a racist organisation over its 'Zionism is racism' policy.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews, the UK's largest Jewish organisation, voted overwhelmingly on Sunday to declare the Green Party of England and Wales a racist party. The vote was 118 to one and followed the Greens' adoption of a policy motion at their recent conference stating that 'Zionism is racism'.

Board of Deputies president Phil Rosenberg said: 'By adopting an antisemitic platform, the Green Party of England and Wales has become a racist party. We will treat it accordingly.' He added that no political party had the right to tell Jews that a central part of their identity, 'rooted in thousands of years of history, faith and peoplehood', was racist, and that the policy branded much of the Jewish community with that slur.

The Board of Deputies urged other political parties not to form coalition deals with the Greens unless they rejected the policy. Doing so would be 'failing to take antisemitism with the requisite seriousness', the motion stated, unless the Greens' local leadership had rejected the policy and committed to overturn it. Labour has already issued an ultimatum to local Green groups in coalition with it, demanding they disown the motion or lose Labour's support.

The Green Party responded by insisting it does not discriminate against those who hold Zionist views and rejected the Board of Deputies' characterisation of both the motion and the party. A spokesman said the decision 'will not stop us from speaking out against the genocide in Gaza', though Israel has repeatedly denied its actions there amount to genocide.

How it is being reported

• Board of Deputies of British Jews declares Greens to be racist partyThe Jewish body's vote comes in response to the Green Party passing a "Zionism is racism" policy motion.BBC News · 25 Oct, 18:05
• Board of Deputies formally declares Green Party has 'become a racist party' after its anti-Zionist policyThe Board of Deputies condemned the Green Party of England and Wales following the controversial policy that saw members vote in favour of the statement that 'Zionism is racism'.Daily Mail · 25 Oct, 16:26

In this story: Board of Deputies of British Jews · Green Party of England and Wales · Phil Rosenberg · Labour · Gaza · Israel

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