Burnham calls on Polanski to reverse Green Party's Zionism motion
Andy Burnham has called on Green Party leader Zack Polanski to reverse a controversial party motion that defines Zionism as a form of racism. Polanski has faced significant backlash for his ambiguous response to the motion during his recent by-election campaign.
Why it matters
External pressure from other political figures intensifies the internal crisis within the Green Party regarding its policy on Zionism.
Share Save Add as preferred on Google Becky Morton Political reporter Polanski challenged over whether he thinks Israel has right to exist Zack Polanski has said he would not have voted for a motion passed by Green Party members declaring Zionism a form of racism.
The Green Party leader told BBC Breakfast the motion was "imperfect" and he would have voted for an amended version.
However, he said the "substantial part of the motion", that "the displacement and genocide of the Palestinian people is clearly underpinned by a racist ideology" was "obvious". Israel has repeatedly denied its actions in Gaza amount to genocide.
The motion defined Zionism as an ideology supporting "an ethnonationalist Jewish state" and backed a "single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine", which includes modern-day Israel.
Polanski has faced criticism - including from some senior Green Party figures - over his response to the motion.
Also covering this story
One other newsroom covered this event. We read that version too.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in