The Greens are likely to debate on Sunday at their annual party conference whether Zionism, the movement to develop and protect a Jewish state in Israel, is racist.
asserted
Zionism → debate → Israel
Senior figures, including former MP Caroline Lucas and ex-leader Adrian Ramsay, have already warned the motion – which is still subject to internal Green Party processes before it could be debated – would be divisive.
uncertain
it → include → processes
Asked about the thrust of the motion, Green Party leader Mr Polanski told the BBC: “Well, this is in a context where 75,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza, 1,500 since the recent so-called ceasefire.
asserted
Palestinians → ask → ceasefire
“We also know there are more child amputees than in modern history.
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We → know → history
“So I think what the party is absolutely united on is recognising we need to end the genocide, we need to stop selling arms to Israel.”
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we → think → Israel
Asked if he believed Zionism is racist, Mr Polanski replied: “Well, in the motion, it is defined as the displacement and genocide of the Palestinian people.
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it → ask → people
I think that is clearly racism.
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that → think → ?
“I don’t think anyone could argue with that and, as I’ve said, we’ve seen so many innocent people die.”
uncertain
people → think → that
The Green leader was then pressed on whether that made the majority of British Jews – who define themselves as Zionists – racist.
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who → press → Zionists
Mr Polanski told the BBC: “I think it’s about how you define Zionism, and if your Zionism is the displacement of the Palestinian people, then that’s clearly racist, and I say that as a Jewish leader of a political party.
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I → tell → party
“What my focus is on, though, is what materially can we do to make a difference, and that’s stop selling arms to Israel, stop sharing intelligence, and boycott, divestment, sanctions.”
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that → do → intelligence
Mr Polanski said he was “calling for an amendment” to the motion, which calls for one Palestinian state, “because what I want to see is equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians”.
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want → say → Israelis
In his speech at the Green Party conference in Brighton on Friday, Mr Polanski claimed the Greens had pushed the Labour Government towards more progressive policies on a host of issues, and urged it to de-proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist group.
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Greens → claim → group
Chants of “Free, free Palestine” could be heard from some Green members in the hall, who were wearing Palestinian keffiyeh scarves around their necks or across their shoulders.
uncertain
who → hear → shoulders
Ms Lucas, who became the Green Party’s first MP in 2010, earlier said she would not be supporting the motion, and told the BBC there was “a real risk that it will be divisive and could be seen as a sign that Jewish people aren’t welcome in the party”.
uncertain
people → become → party
Adrian Ramsay, a former Green co-leader, also voiced concerns about the motion to the Times newspaper.
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Ramsay → voice → newspaper
Mr Polanski used his headline speech at the conference to claim his party’s growing national voice had made a difference to Labour’s political direction.
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voice → use → direction
“Vote Green and watch Labour move,” he told members.
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he → vote → members
The Green leader is standing in the Holborn and St Pancras parliamentary by-election, with the aim of winning the seat previously held by ex-prime minister Sir Keir Starmer from Labour for the first time in its electoral history.
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leader → stand → history
During his address he also set out a new Green Party policy to control rises in private sector rents, modelled on the pensions triple lock.
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he → set → lock
He called for a “a three-year emergency brake on private rents”, adding: “No rent rises above CPI, wage growth or 2% – whichever is lower.
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whichever → call → CPI
The Green leader continued: “And in the long term, we’ll put in place a national fair rents guarantee to keep rents affordable for everyone, forever.”
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we → continue → everyone
Mr Polanski left the party conference after his speech to continue campaigning in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.
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Polanski → leave → election
Signs around the conference centre encouraged Green members to also leave Brighton to join the campaign, knocking on doors across the north London constituency.
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Signs → encourage → constituency
The Aporia
