Green Party members have voted to classify Zionism as a form of racism and call for the replacement of Israel with a single Palestinian state, triggering an immediate diplomatic and political backlash.

The resolution was passed at the party's autumn conference in Brighton, with 1,022 members voting in favour and 813 against. Green leader Zack Polanski was not present for the vote, having left the conference to campaign in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election. Following the result, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Mr Polanski has been barred from entering Israel.

The approved text states that Zionism—the movement supporting Jewish self-determination in the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people—should be considered racist. It calls for the abolition of the State of Israel and the creation of a "single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital".

The motion also backs what it describes as the "right of the Palestinian people to resistance and liberation from Israeli occupation" and recognizes the right of "oppressed colonial peoples to defend themselves against foreign oppression". In addition, the policy supports the removal of the activist group Palestine Action from the list of proscribed organisations.

Israel's foreign ministry responded with fierce condemnation, describing the resolution as "shocking" and accusing the Greens of adopting the ideology of Hamas by backing the elimination of Israel through armed struggle. A ministry spokesman stated that the resolution stands as a "stain on the history of the United Kingdom" and urged every British political party to reject it unequivocally.

That call was swiftly taken up in Westminster. Labour chair and equalities minister Bridget Phillipson labelled the motion "fundamentally wrong" and described the vote against a two-state solution as "shameful". She warned that the policy effectively condemns the vast majority of British Jews and Jews worldwide as racist for supporting Israel's right to exist, demanding that Green leadership make clear this will not be their stance moving forward.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp was equally critical, stating that British Jews should not have to abandon support for Jewish self-determination to participate in British political life. Mr Philp argued that the decision showed the Green Party was "toxic to its core" and failing to stand clearly against antisemitism.

The debate also revealed significant internal fractures within the Green Party itself. Before the final vote was called, members rejected two separate amendments proposing a two-state solution by margins of more than 100 votes. An amendment designed to protect Jewish party members from disciplinary action over affiliation with Zionist communities was also voted down, by 1,064 votes. Former leader Caroline Lucas described the motion as "divisive", deputy leader Rachel Millward called it "problematic", and Ellie Chowns MP warned that passing it would damage the party.

Defending the conference outcome, a Green Party spokesman maintained that the party remains anti-racist, noting that members have the right to debate and decide official policy. The spokesman highlighted the party's consistent opposition to what it considers the illegal occupation of Palestinian and Syrian land, its calls to halt arms sales to Israel, and its ongoing focus on conditions across Gaza and the West Bank.

What remains unclear is how the Green Party leadership plans to navigate the widening rift between its conference floor and the rest of the UK political landscape. I'll be following this one — check back for updates as the story develops.