Polanski told the Guardian that he is signalling a potential overhaul of the Green party’s grassroots democracy after a divisive vote equating Zionism with racism, following his defeat in the Holborn and St Pancras byelection.
He said the party’s rapid growth means its democratic structures need to evolve, giving leaders greater responsibility for setting the party’s strategic direction while widening member engagement and making processes more robust and accessible.
The controversy centres on a motion passed at the party conference that declared Zionism a form of racism and backed a single Palestinian state; the vote was 1,022 in favour to 813 against, representing about 0.4 % of the party’s total membership, according to the Guardian.
Four of the party’s five MPs opposed the motion, and the European Green party criticised it, maintaining its support for a two‑state solution, the Guardian reported.
Ellie Chowns, the Greens’ Westminster leader, warned the party must not become vulnerable to capture by extremists and racists, urging a modernisation of its policymaking structures, as noted in the Guardian article.
Polanski, who is Jewish and grew up in a Zionist household, said he shares the view that Zionism underpins the displacement and genocide of Palestinians, but also acknowledged that for many Jewish people the term is tied to identity, safety and belonging; he argued it is not the job of a political party to tell people what to believe and disagreed with the motion’s prescription for the future shape of a state in Israel and Palestine, according to his Guardian piece.
He admitted that his priority had been fighting the Holborn and St Pancras byelection, acknowledging that some colleagues and members felt let down by his decision not to intervene in the vote last week, as he wrote in the Guardian.
Senior Greens have previously warned that the existing structure allows a small number of highly motivated activists to determine policy for the wider membership, a concern heightened by the party’s rapid expansion, the Guardian noted.
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