"NAZI scum," a man with an Israel flag shouts at delegates entering the Green Party conference. "Shame!" scream others. The people going into Brighton Centre are a mix of members, journalists, exhibitors, those of all faiths and none – and there hasn't even been a vote on the hotly debated "Zionism is racism" motion yet. That doesn't matter to the pro-Israel activists standing at the entrance. Anyone is fair game for abuse.
The media has been keen to make the "Zionism is racism" motion the most important story of the Green Party of England and Wales conference this year. The proposal wants to see Zionism, effectively the belief that there should be a state only for Jewish people, explicitly categorised as racism. It has been the primary talking point among media at this conference, overshadowing major policy announcements on public ownership of water and a rent freeze.
Senior figures, including former MP Caroline Lucas and ex-leader Adrian Ramsay, have warned that the motion could be divisive. The party is quite split on the issue, and accusations of antisemitism have been thrown at them. The Eo2 motion itself states: “This motion is aimed at the political ideology and practice of Zionism, as defined, and not at the religious or ethnic background of those who might identify as Zionists.” But with research from the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR) suggesting that as many as two in three British Jews may identify as Zionists, criticism of the motion has suggested that it could end up classing a huge portion of the Jewish community as inherently racist.
Outside the glass-fronted foyer of Brighton Centre, the pro-Israel and anti-Zionist sides are separated by a line of police. Israeli and Palestinian flags fly on either side of the divide, while the former plays songs like "I'm still standing", drowned out by the counter-protesters' shouts of "free, free Palestine". Neither has a huge turn-out, but there are fewer pro-Palestine activists at the Green event since members are being encouraged to go to London and campaign for Zack Polanski in the Holborn by-election.
There can't be more than 100 people on either side, but the tone is unpleasant, driven mainly by very aggressive, personal attacks from those protesting the motion. Apparently three organisations have backed the rally, including Sussex Friends of Israel, Stop the Hate and Jewish and Proud, and one local left-wing campaigner tells me they've been bringing people in from London for this. It can't be the big display against anti-Zionism they have been hoping for.
A group called Jews Against Zionism are among the campaigners on the east side of the demonstration. They are supportive of the motion and grateful to see a mainstream political party having this conversation. The group is mixed in age, wearing both kippahs and keffiyehs, and sharing pieces of challah. They hold signs reading "this Jew says yes, Zionism is racism", and "Zionism's reality: illegal West Bank settlers have murdered over 1100 Palestinians since 2020. Zero have faced conviction ... any Jew has the automatic right to Israeli citizenship - Palestinians removed from their own home, don't. Sounds pretty racist".
Ori, a member of the group from Brighton, is clear on his view of Zionism. "I’m here with Jews against Zionism supporting the Green Party motion that says Zionism is racism. I think that’s super important to recognise because Israel is committing genocide, it’s a direct result of the Zionist ideology that founded the state of Israel, which is an apartheid, colonial, ethno-state," he says.
"We think it has no place in a civilised world, the state of Israel. And to have a mainstream political party in Parliament supporting Palestinian liberation, in the terms that the Palestinian people themselves are using, will hopefully be a very good turning point and will hopefully lead to sanctions on the state of Israel which is what Palestinians are calling for and we support their struggle."
Asked why he feels this motion has caused such furore, Ori says he thinks it's because no political parties have gone so far as to describe Zionism in these terms.
"You just haven’t seen that from any mainstream politician before. And of course the genocide is a huge thing that everybody is talking about and everybody is just so fed up of politicians being so, what they claim is 'middle ground' about it, but is actually just leaning into the Zionist narrative. Saying stuff like oh we support a two-state solution or refusing to take a stance on Zionism. I think this is a big change, it’s a positive change."
Ori says the turn-out for the pro-Israel group is "quite pathetic" and accuses them of using the term "antisemitism" as a "buzz word for their own political narrative". "They are just racists. They do not support the Palestinian people and they think Israel should continue as an ethno-state for the Jewish people. In the name of the Jewish people, we think that’s very harmful for everyone," he adds.
I move past the police line to see what's happening on the pro-Israel side. Many signs describe the Greens as a "racist party". They are designed to almost look like official Green Party materials, using the same colours and font as the party itself. Meanwhile other posters are designed to appear like the "Stand Up to Racism" group's campaign flyers, except these ones say "Stand Up to Racist Greens: No to anti-Zionism, no to antisemitism". Members of the crowd wear T-shirts saying: "Some people are Zionism, get over it", while others hold bizarre posters stating "more trees, less Hamas".
One woman holding a banner advising people not to vote for the "racist Greens" tells me of her fury at the motion. She believes Zionism to be a left-wing movement focusing on providing self-determination for Jewish people around the world in exile.
"I also support Palestinian self-determination. They may have come to that desire for their own nation later than the Jews, you know," she says. "We should have a two-state solution and this motion basically says that to believe in the right of your people to a country is racist and furthermore that if you belong to a synagogue that you are also a suspect and could be up for disciplining measures from the Green Party. The Green Party is becoming a antisemitic racist party."
She believes that the motion risks vilifying Jewish people and making them the targets of racist abuse. "I think this is one of the worst things that has happened to the Green Party in its entire existence. I think it's a tragedy that they are now promoting Jew hatred in this fashion."
She goes on: "Obviously the war in Gaza is of concern, but it's a war, not a genocide. And the Green Party have also joined in that vilification and lie that inverting the Holocaust, inverting reality, a war started by Hamas."
The world's leading experts on genocide have indeed stated that Israel has been carrying out genocide in Gaza. The International Association of Genocide Scholars concluded last year that Israel's actions meet the criteria in the UN convention on genocide, citing among many pieces of evidence examples of Israeli leaders wishing to "flatten" Gaza and turn it into "hell".
Green members will decide how to vote on this motion on Sunday, at a closed-door meeting as per long-standing party rules on press access at conference. Nobody from The National, nor any other outlet, will be in the room, leaving us reliant on reports from members after the fact. However the vote goes, it is unlikely to stop pro-Israel attacks on the party, given its pre-existing policies on Palestine. From wanting full sanctions on Israel, an all-encompassing arms embargo, and the de-proscription of Palestine Action, the Greens have a clear stance, and their increased visibility under new leader Polanski has at least helped get people talking about these issues.
