Barnet’s sole Green councillor Charli Thompson backed the motion while local Labour and Conservative politicians expressed their horror reports David Floyd
Barnet Labour and Conservative politicians have slammed the Greens after the party adopted a controversial policy calling for Zionism to be “treated as any other form of racism”.
The motion ‘Zionism is Racism’, proposed by Lubna Speitan of Greens for Palestine and passed at the party’s conference in Brighton yesterday, is supported by Barnet’s sole Green councillor, Charli Thompson.
It states: “Zionism is a political ideology which called for the creation – and, now it exists, the continuity – of an ethnonationalist Jewish State in historic Palestine to the exclusion and/or domination of the non-Jewish population.”
It continues: “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 may identify as Zionists. Not all Jews are Zionists and not all Zionists are Jews.”
And concludes: “Zionism is fundamentally incompatible with anti-racist principles, equality and justice” before setting out a series of actions that the Greens should pursue as an “anti-Zionist” party.
While the term ‘Zionism’ is highly contested, it is primarily used within the Jewish community to refer to support for some form of Jewish state in the Holy Land.
It encompasses a wide spectrum of political beliefs ranging from sympathy with right-wing Israeli nationalism to strong advocacy of a ‘two-state solution’ based on Israel existing alongside an independent Palestine, and includes both supporters and opponents of the current Israeli government and its military activity in Gaza.
A recent report from the Institute for Jewish Policy Research highlights that, as of June 2025, 66% of British Jews identify as Zionists.
Existing Green policies on Israel and Palestine had already provoked controversy in Barnet, with both Labour and the Conservatives highlighting the party’s positions on the issue as being a factor in their decision not to seek Cllr Thompson’s support after both parties secured 31 seats at May’s local elections.
Barry Rawlings – “Pronouncements have a very dark history”
However, the new policy drew a furious response from the party’s opponents in Barnet. For Labour, council leader Barry Rawlings told Barnet Post: “I condemn Green Party motion E03 entirely and unequivocally.
“Pronouncements that ‘Zionism is racism’ such as those passed by the Green Party have a very dark history, from enabling the persecution of Jews under Communist regimes to attempts to shut out Jewish organisations in the UK.
Cllr Rawlings added: “It is also concerning that the amendment to safeguard Jewish Greens who are members of Jewish organisations or attend synagogues that identify as Zionist failed; That Israeli joint Jewish-Palestinian protest group, Standing Together, has been banned by the Greens, including its Palestinian speakers; That the Antisemitism Policy Trust considers itself to have been effectively ‘banned’ by the Greens; That the motion passed by the Greens also commits it to campaign against both the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition of Antisemitism and the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism.
“This is a clear pattern of behaviour. Jewish residents in Barnet will be deeply worried by the Green Party motion and no one should tell members of the community they are wrong to be so.”
Lucy Wakeley – “Blatant act of antisemitism”
For the Conservatives, deputy group leader Lucy Wakeley told the Post: “The Green Party has made it policy to treat Zionism, the belief in Jewish self-determination, as a form of racism.
“Worse, Green members voted down an amendment that would have protected members from being pressured or disciplined over their links to synagogues and Jewish groups that describe themselves as Zionist. Offered a simple safeguard for Jewish members, they refused it. That is as plain an example of racism as you will find, and it is now official Green Party policy.
Cllr Wakeley added: “Even more concerning is the announcement that the head of the Jewish Greens has expressed today that she feels she may now need to leave the party. In 2026 to have a major political party be an unsafe place for Jewish people is an abhorrent example of how far antisemitism has spread.
“Barnet is home to a large and proud Jewish community. Every Jewish resident should know that Barnet Conservatives stand with them, and this blatant act of antisemitism will not be tolerated in Barnet. Ever.”
“We are calling on Cllr Thompson, and the wider Barnet Green Party to declare this motion what we all know it is, an antisemitic and racist policy.”
Charli Thompson – “Zionism is an ethnonationalist political project”
Contacted by the Post for her own response to the new policy, Cllr Thompson backed the conference vote.
She told the Post: “I support the decision. I understand Zionism as an ethnonationalist political project, and my opposition to it is rooted in a simple principle: equal rights for everyone, regardless of ethnicity or religion. I oppose political ideologies which privilege the rights of one ethnic or religious group over another.”
Asked what reassurance she would give to Jewish Green members that the party is a safe place for them she said: “Jewish members must be safe and welcome in the Green Party, and antisemitism must always be challenged. This policy concerns Zionism as a political ideology, it is not about Judaism or Jewish identity.
“Nobody should have assumptions made about their political beliefs because they are Jewish, and disagreement with this policy does not make somebody unwelcome in the party. I care deeply about all members feeling safe and will do all I can to uphold our party’s values of diversity and inclusion.”
Asked what she would say Jews in Barnet who regard themselves as both Zionists and anti-racists, she said: “I recognise that some people may regard themselves as both Zionist and anti-racist and sometimes pro-Palestinian. I personally find those positions difficult to reconcile, given my understanding of Zionism as an ethnonationalist political project, but it is not for me to tell anybody how they should identify.
“People know what they believe and what they stand for. I can only be clear about the political ideology I oppose and why. Opposition to Zionism is not opposition to Jewish people or Judaism, and I will always challenge antisemitism.”
Cllr Thompson also highlighted the statement issued by Barnet Green Party following the vote.
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