UK Friends of Standing Together Steering Group statement on "Zionism is racism" resolution

At its recent conference, the Green Party of England and Wales passed a motion declaring that Zionism is racism. The motion rejected a Palestinian state alongside Israel as a way forward, insisting on a single Palestinian state in the whole of historic Palestine. An amendment seeking to ensure Jewish members of the Green Party would not be disciplined for membership of communal bodies which identify as Zionist was rejected.

UK Friends of Standing Together believes this is a serious mistake. We share the strong opposition to the oppression of Palestinians that motivates many supporters of the motion. But its politics are divisive and counterproductive. It is of no material benefit to the Palestinian people it claims to support.

International activists are entitled to their views on the optimal political settlement in Palestine-Israel. However, this is ultimately for the people of the region to decide. A single Palestinian state is not the dominant aspiration amongst the people of Palestine — who, like any people, do not speak in a single voice. We support Standing Together’s view that at this point, establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel is the best starting point for progress towards a just, equal, sustainable peace. Standing Together fights for a model based on two states with confederal links, open borders, and full equality for the Palestinian minority within Israel.

The motion is unlikely to make any difference to the situation on the ground. Its main impact will be here in the UK. Green Party members who self-identify as Zionist, or are believed to do so, regardless of the political meaning they apply to that identification, may now be subject to sanctions within the party. This could apply to many Jews who actively oppose Israel’s occupation, ethnic cleansing, genocide and war, often through practical action on the ground in Palestine. The rejection of the amendment seeking to rule out such targeting has been especially distressing for many.

UK Friends of Standing Together is non-party-political. We have groups of supporters across several political parties, including the Greens. We want to see all political parties and civil society groups take action based on a commitment to genuine equality, and solidarity with those fighting for it on the ground, rather than abstract adherence to particular labels or forms of language.

We hope the motion will be replaced with a policy that maintains clear opposition to the Israeli government’s occupation, ethnic cleansing, and genocide, whilst stressing support for equal rights — including an equal right to self-determination — for both Palestinians and Israeli Jews.

We also hope the Green Party will orient to practical solidarity with co-resistance movements, including by overturning the ban on Standing Together and Friends of Standing Together from Green Party spaces.

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For more info on the UK Friends of Standing Together fringe meeting held at the conference, click here.