Israel bars UK Greens leader over Zionism-racism resolution: What to know
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced Sunday that Green Party of England and Wales leader Zack Polanski would be barred from entering Israel after his party adopted a policy defining Zionism as a form of racism.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has barred British Greens leader Zack Polanski from entering the country after his party adopted a resolution defining Zionism as an "ethnonationalist political project," marking a further deterioration in Israel-UK relations.
The resolution passed by 1,022 party members to 813. It defines Zionism as a form of racism and stresses that anti-Zionism should not be equated with antisemitism. "The motion sets out the Party’s opposition to Zionism," adding that it "reasserts the Party’s commitment to Palestinian liberation, the right of return, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), and a full arms embargo against Israel.''
Polanski, who was born David Paulden and is Jewish, has led the Green Party of England and Wales since 2025. In July 2025, while serving as deputy party leader, he described the situation in Gaza as genocide and accused the British Labour government of being “not just complicit but active participants.”
War of words
