The Green Party of England and Wales has formally voted to define Zionism as a form of racism, triggering sharp condemnations and vitriolic rhetoric from the Israeli regime as well as affiliated advocacy groups in the United Kingdom. The contentious resolution, passed during the party’s internal conference, prompted Tel Aviv’s foreign affairs apparatus to claim that the leftist British party was supposedly offering “legitimacy to terrorism,” while urging other Western political factions to denounce the move.

The measure was endorsed by a majority of party members, securing 1,022 votes in favor to 813 against. In its official policy document, the Green Party characterized Zionism as an “ethnonationalist political project” incompatible with genuine democratic equality. Furthermore, the party reaffirmed its explicit call for the UK’s Labour regime to immediately halt all arms transfers and military trade with the Israeli regime, while expressing support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and endorsing the creation of a single democratic state across historic Palestine.

The development drew rapid backlash from figures within the Israeli regime. Israeli regime President Isaac Herzog labeled the decision a “disgrace and a shame,” alleging that defining Zionism as racism directly endangers Jewish communities abroad. Israeli opposition politician Yair Lapid, along with British organizations such as the Movement for Progressive Judaism, similarly attempted to dismiss the vote as inherently antisemitic, while the Israeli regime's foreign ministry went so far as to claim the party had supposedly embraced the ideology of armed resistance groups.

Party officials, however, stood firmly by the resolution, maintaining that the political shift reflects widespread public outrage over the devastating realities on the ground. Green Party co-deputy leader Mothin Ali highlighted that the massive civilian death toll resulting from the Israeli regime's brutal military onslaught in the Gaza Strip provided the direct context for the decision. In a joint declaration, party figures underscored that they would continue challenging apartheid, illegal occupation, and the documented violations carried out by the Tel Aviv regime.

Source: www.aljazeera.com