GREEN PARTY APPROVES ZIONISM IS RACISM MOTION AS LEADER SKIPS VOTE

The Green Party has made it official policy that Zionism is racism, after members voted to approve the motion, according to reports. The party's leader, Polanski, did not take part in the vote and was absent when it passed. Members, rather than the party's leadership, decided the policy themselves, reports said. One report called the party the first openly antisemitic party in the UK following the vote. The party did not apply that description to itself. Multiple outlets confirmed that the vote had passed.

Zionism is a political movement associated with support for the state of Israel as a homeland for Jewish people. The motion brands that position as racist and sets it out as the party's stance, according to reports. Reports covered Polanski's decision not to attend the vote separately from the substance of the motion. The coverage reviewed gave no explanation for the absence, and included no comment from other senior figures in the party. The vote adds to the party's record of policy positions on Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, reports said.

The antisemitic label drew attention to the vote beyond the party's own membership, according to the report that used the term. Reports did not say whether the party planned any further statement on the motion or on Polanski's absence from the vote. Reports gave no indication of when, or whether, the party would review the policy. Reports did not specify the scale of support among members who voted for the motion. The reports reviewed did not state Polanski's own position on the substance of the motion.