Green councillor defends Zionism motion as row intensifies

Summarised from 2 outlets · 4 reports · Updated 15 Oct, 13:32 · Archive

A Norwich Green councillor's comments on a party motion declaring Zionism racist have drawn condemnation from Jewish leaders and a formal complaint from Labour.

The Green Party passed a motion at its national conference declaring Zionism racist by 1,022 votes to 813. The motion also abandons the long-standing goal of a two-state solution. Bliss Wylie, elected to Norwich City Council in May, helped draft the motion and has been its most vocal supporter locally.

Wylie said the motion 'had very little to do with Jewish people, particularly Jewish people in the United Kingdom' and that 'the ideology that says European Jewish people have more of a right to inhabit the historic land of Palestine than the Palestinian Arabs is racist'. The Jewish Leadership Council responded by branding her comments 'ignorant' and 'an absurd and dangerous erasure of Jewish experience and identity'. Zionism is the belief in a Jewish homeland, held by the majority of Jews.

Labour has lodged a formal complaint with Norwich City Council's monitoring officer, alleging Wylie's comments were antisemitic. The council leader Lucy Galvin and her cabinet have said they opposed the Green motion. Wylie has since said the 'hurt feelings of any leaders, Jewish or otherwise, are hardly the point' and cited what she claimed were '27,000 Palestinian children' killed. The outlets note she provided no evidence for this figure, and that even the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health does not claim such a high number.

Critics say the motion wrongly equates all forms of Zionism with racism, when many Jews see it as support for Jewish self-determination and Israel's right to exist. They argue it has fuelled antisemitism in the UK.

How it is being reported

• Green says 'hurt feelings' of Jewish leaders over Zionism vote are 'hardly the point'A Norwich Green councillor whose comments on Zionism have been criticised by Jewish leaders has reignited the row saying their "hurt feelings" were "hardly the point".Eastern Daily Press · 15 Oct, 13:00
• Green says 'hurt feelings' of Jewish leaders over Zionism vote are 'hardly the point'A Norwich Green councillor whose comments on Zionism have been criticised by Jewish leaders has reignited the row saying their "hurt feelings" were "hardly the point".Norwich Evening News · 15 Oct, 13:00
• Green accused of 'dangerous erasure of Jewish identity' over Zionism remarksA Green councillor who said the party’s motion declaring Zionism was racist had “very little to do with Jewish people” has been condemned by Jewish leaders.Eastern Daily Press · 15 Oct, 06:00
• Green accused of 'dangerous erasure of Jewish identity' over Zionism remarksA Green councillor who said the party’s motion declaring Zionism was racist had “very little to do with Jewish people” has been condemned by Jewish leaders.Norwich Evening News · 15 Oct, 06:00

In this story: Bliss Wylie · Jewish Leadership Council · Norwich City Council · Lucy Galvin · Green Party · Labour · Norwich

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