Zack Polanski, leader of the British Green Party (Zelena stranka), declared himself an anti-Zionist and described Zionism as a form of racism. His remarks, made at a Jewish community event in the Holborn and St Pancras constituency, were met with disapproval from parts of the audience.
Polanski was heckled at the event, and his words were punctuated by whistles from the crowd. "I am an anti-Zionist. I believe that states are always ideas and I believe things change over time," Polanski said, noting that he is himself Jewish.
He also insists that criticising the Israeli government and the occupation of Palestinian land is not antisemitic. "We need to come together to recognise that by calling this antisemitic, we make ourselves as a Jewish people less safe," he said.
His intervention comes ahead of a vote by Green Party (Zelena stranka) members on a proposal to declare Zionism a form of racism in the party's official policy. The proposal calls for "a unique democratic Palestinian state across all historical Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital, equal rights for all and the right of return for Palestinians and their descendants".
The text also states that the Palestinian people have a full right to "resistance and liberation from Israeli occupation, domination and subjugation" within international law. If adopted, the party would treat Zionism, as the proposal states, "in the same way as any other form of racism".
A Green Party (Zelena stranka) source warned of the risk of such a decision. "The risk is that if it passes in this form, we will alienate the Jewish community in the United Kingdom, a large part of which is not a great fan of the current Israeli government," the source said.
In leaked WhatsApp conversations, some Green Party (Zelena stranka) activists warned that Polanski "struggles heavily with Zionist indoctrination". According to Sky News, Polanski reportedly supports two amendments that would soften the "Zionism is racism" proposal.
Those amendments were selected for voting at the Green Party (Zelena stranka) conference next week. They, according to the report, "challenge the call for a unique Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital and add protective measures for Jewish members who belong to groups describing themselves as Zionist".
In a separate development, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi that Britain "will not tolerate intimidation, threats or hostile activity on British soil". The conversation was held live on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, the Foreign Office (Ministarstvo vanjskih poslova) said.
The two officials discussed the war in the Middle East, the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz and "the unwavering determination of the United Kingdom to counter threats from groups linked to Iran on British soil".
Meanwhile, advisers in the prime minister's office, according to the Telegraph, are advocating for a snap election to keep Labour (Laburistička stranka) in power. The Telegraph reports that senior members of Andy Burnham's team believe calling an election in spring would give the party the best chance of securing a new majority.
Defence companies and critical infrastructure providers will be informed of the threat posed by Russia and its proxies, including cyber attacks, sabotage and disinformation targeting organisations vital to Ukrainian defence. Security Minister Dan Jarvis and Armed Forces Minister Louise Sandher-Jones will lead closed meetings with industry leaders in the coming weeks.
