Green Party leader Zack Polanski is facing accusations of cowardice and leading his party toward political irrelevance following controversial votes at a recent conference, according to columnist Dan Hodges. Hodges contends that Polanski, described as a "charlatan" and "poseur," failed to confront a "hard-Left monster" that has overtaken the party.
The controversy stems from two key votes at the Green Party conference. Delegates passed a motion stating that supporting the existence of Israel is racist, a decision met with cheers. A subsequent motion intended to protect Jewish members attending synagogues was defeated.
During these events, Polanski was reportedly not present in Brighton, where the conference was held. Instead, he was campaigning in Camden, as indicated by a social media post about rent controls and nationalization efforts. Hodges criticizes this absence, suggesting it demonstrates a failure to stand by the party's principles and a retreat from addressing the contentious issues, which he frames as a referendum on the right of Jews to exist free from oppression.
Hodges draws a parallel to the controversies within the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn, suggesting that the anti-Semitism that plagued Labour has now found a new home within the Green Party. He notes that while the Equality and Human Rights Commission investigated Labour over anti-Semitism, even Corbyn did not sanction actions against those practicing their religion. The Green Party's deputy chair, Rachel Millward, is quoted as stating that anti-Semitism has no place in the party, but Hodges argues that the recent votes have officially sanctioned it.
This stance has drawn international attention, with the European Green Party seeking urgent talks and Amnesty International UK chair Sandy Ruthven resigning from the Green Party in protest. More than a dozen Labour MPs have reportedly urged Sussex Police to investigate whether events at the conference constituted criminal racial or religious hatred.
Polanski, who is Jewish, is characterized by Hodges as "impotent, ineffectual, helpless and hapless," unable to manage the ideological shift within the party. The columnist predicts a significant drop in the Green Party's poll numbers, exacerbated by internal conflict following these events. Hodges suggests that principled environmentalists within the party may need to reclaim control from what he terms "voracious, anti-Semitic zealots."