STORY
Green Party leader Zack Polanski is facing growing pressure over his handling of the party’s decision to adopt a policy declaring that “Zionism is racism”, after Sandy Ruthven, chair of the Amnesty International UK board of trustees, resigned his Green Party membership.
Ruthven, a longstanding Green member and the party’s candidate for Mayor of Bristol in 2021, accused the party of failing to confront prejudice within its own ranks and said that its attempt to court the hard left had led it into a “political cul-de-sac”, although his resignation was a personal decision rather than a statement issued on behalf of Amnesty International UK.
The policy was approved at the Green Party conference after Polanski left the event to campaign in the Holborn and St Pancras parliamentary by-election, while four of the party’s five MPs opposed the motion and senior figures have warned that it could leave Jewish members feeling unwelcome, adding to questions about Polanski’s leadership and whether he can restore confidence among those considering leaving the party.