Cornwall Green leader condemns his party’s ‘Zionism is racism’ motion

The leader of the Green Party group at Cornwall Council says his party’s adoption of a motion declaring Zionism is a form of racism has set a “really dangerous precedent”.

The motion at the Greens’ party conference in Brighton on Sunday defines Zionism as an ideology supporting “an ethnonationalist Jewish state” and backs a “single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine”.

It has been criticised by some Jewish groups, who have dubbed the motion an “attack on the Jewish community”.

“Zionism is anti-racism, creating a refuge for Jews in their ancient homeland after millennia of persecution outside it,” the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council said in a statement.

“Branding most British Jews and Jewish institutions ‘racist’ stokes anti-Jewish hatred after a year in which British Jews have been murdered attending their synagogue, stabbed in the streets and seen their community buildings firebombed.”

Israel’s foreign ministry says it has banned Green Party leader Zack Polanski from entering the country as a result of the vote.

The motion has also been criticised by senior Green Party members, with four of the Greens’ five MPs – Ellie Chowns, Adrian Ramsay, Carla

Denyer and Sian Berry – publicly opposed to it, with Denyer arguing it could risk “alienating a significant proportion of Jewish people”.

All three members of the Green Party on Cornwall Council – group leader Cllr Creek, Cllr Dean Evans and Cllr Karen La Borde – are also against the declaration.

Cllr Creek, who attended the Green Party conference, said: “It caused a lot of tension across the conference weekend. I was dead against the motion and indeed voted against it. I spoke against the motion to anyone that I could.

“I think it’s set a really dangerous precedent, to be honest. I’m really worried about the way forward for us.

“Zionism clearly doesn’t mean a single thing to everyone, it means different things to different people. Ultimately, it’s rooted in a history of persecution.”

Cllr Creek, who is also the Mayor of Newquay, added: “Whatever the intentions behind the motion, I know myself, Cllr La Borde and Cllr Evans are of the same opinion. It doesn’t reflect our values and it certainly won’t be reflecting the way in which we represent our communities here in Cornwall.”