BBC’s Nick Robinson Tears Into Green Leader Zack Polanski For Missing ‘Zionism Is Racism’ Motion

The party now defines Zionism as a “political ideology which called for the creation – and now it exists, the continuity – of an ethnonationlist Jewish State in historic Palestine to the exclusion and/or domination of the non Jewish population.”

Activists at the Green conference in Brighton last Sunday voted 1,022 to 813 in favour of the controversial motion, which saw the party being branded “racist”.

Polanski abstained from the debate and the vote to campaign in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, a move which has since been slammed by former Green leader Caroline Lucas.

She refused to say whether Polanski should stay on or step down, telling BBC Newsnight: “He should have been there and he should have voted.”

The Green leader lost the by-election overnight to Labour, casting fresh doubt on his political future – though he insists he will stay on in his post.

On the BBC’s Radio 4’s Today programme, presenter Nick Robinson said: “Presented with a highly controversial motion, about whether the existence of Israel was itself racist, you dodged it. You didn’t turn up and you didn’t express a view.”

He added: “If you wanted to be at a motion in your own conference, of course you could be there. Don’t insult the intelligence of people listening.”

Polanski said he tried to postpone the conference so he could focus on campaigning.

Robinson cut in: “Would you have voted against it?”

Polanski, who says he grew up in a “Zionist household”, said he wanted to amend the motion, so he would have voted against it because “aspects of it are not OK” like demanding a single state solution.

He said: “It’s certainly not up to the Green Party of England and Wales at a Brighton conference to decide what the future of the region looks like.”

“This is a question you have always dodged.” Robinson replied. “Will you now say that you think there ought to be a safe home for Jews in a state called Israel, the state created by the UN?”

“I believe Israelis and Palestinians should have equal rights in a democracy,” the London Assembly member said.

Robinson asked him three times why he is avoiding the question, to which Polanski said: “I don’t believe any state has the right to inflict apartheid, certainly not genocide on another people.”

He added that his role and the government’s is to “uphold international law”.

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