Board of Deputies of British Jews declares Greens to be racist party

The Board of Deputies of British Jews has declared the Green Party of England and Wales a racist organisation, voting by 118 to one to adopt the description.

The decision was a response to a policy motion passed at the Green Party's conference earlier this month, which described Zionism as racism. The Board of Deputies, the largest Jewish body in the UK, said the Greens had become a racist party by adopting what its president Phil Rosenberg called an antisemitic platform. Rosenberg said the party's leadership must now take responsibility for reversing the policy.

The Board's motion also urged other parties not to do deals with the Greens unless they rejected the policy, warning that coalition agreements at local or national level would amount to failing to take antisemitism seriously enough.

A Green Party spokesman rejected the characterisation, insisting the party does not discriminate against people who hold Zionist views. The spokesman said the decision would not stop the party speaking out against what it called the genocide in Gaza or pushing for stronger sanctions against the Israeli government and its leaders. Israel has repeatedly denied that its actions in Gaza amount to genocide.

Labour has told local Green groups it is currently in coalition with to disown the motion or lose the party's support. Green leader Zack Polanski, who is Jewish, did not take part in the vote on the motion at the conference. He has since said he would like to amend it but would not overturn it, so it will remain party policy until 2028.