Zack Polanski’s Green Party is facing a deepening political and legal controversy after Labour MPs reported the party to police and the equality watchdog over its decision to adopt a policy declaring that “Zionism is racism”.
Nine Labour MPs have written to Sussex Police asking officers to secure evidence and assess whether a criminal investigation is warranted following the party’s conference in Brighton.
A separate group of 16 MPs has asked the Equality and Human Rights Commission to consider opening a formal investigation under the Equality Act 2006.
The intervention raises the stakes around a vote that has already exposed sharp divisions within the Greens and drawn criticism from Jewish members and senior figures across the political spectrum. The motion passed by 1,022 votes to 813, formally defining Zionism as an “ethnonationalist political project” and arguing that opposition to Zionism should not automatically be equated with antisemitism.
The Labour MPs have asked police to examine reports of delegates rejecting an amendment intended to protect members affiliated with synagogues and Jewish organisations identifying as Zionist.
They also highlighted reports of chanting at the conference including “say it loud, say it clear, Zionists are not welcome here”, arguing that investigators should establish whether the term was being used to direct hostility towards Jewish people.
Their letter asks Sussex Police to consider provisions of the Public Order Act concerning the stirring up of racial or religious hatred, alongside potential harassment or other public-order offences.
“We believe the evidence provides a concrete basis for this complaint and warrants a substantive police response,” the MPs wrote.
“Jewish people are entitled to the protection of the law, including when the conduct complained of occurs in a political setting.”
The controversy has put Polanski under particular pressure. He was absent from the vote, having left the conference to campaign in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election. Four of the party’s five MPs opposed the motion, while Vivien Lichtenstein, chair of the Jewish Greens, has said she could leave the party.
Polanski has sought to draw a distinction between opposition to Zionism and antisemitism.
“Antisemitism and criticism of the Israeli state are, and must always be, completely distinct – blurring the line between the two is not only wrong but antisemitic, and makes Jewish people less safe,” he said.
“It’s our role as a movement for justice to protect both the rights of Palestinians and our Jewish communities here in the UK.”
The dispute has nevertheless moved beyond an internal party argument. The European Green Party has demanded clarification from the English and Welsh Greens, while senior Green figures and Jewish members have warned about the implications of the policy.
For the Greens, the immediate challenge is no longer simply defending an unpopular conference motion. The party now faces questions over whether its policy and the conduct surrounding its adoption are compatible with its stated commitment to opposing discrimination.
The police and EHRC will ultimately determine whether any further action is justified. But the complaints have transformed a divisive conference vote into a wider test of the party’s political direction, internal safeguards and approach to antisemitism.
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