Green councillors on Lewes District Council have opposed a Green Party conference motion that equates Zionism with racism, rejecting the policy while seeking to preserve the authority’s coalition arrangement with Labour.
The motion was approved at the party conference in Brighton on October 4.
It subsequently prompted Labour’s national leadership to warn that local partnerships involving the Greens should be discontinued unless Green councillors publicly rejected the policy.
Lewes is one of only three councils in England where Labour and the Greens share administration, the others being Warwick and Sheffield.
Neither party holds a majority of seats at Lewes, meaning their joint control is necessary to govern the council.
In an open letter to Labour councillors, the Lewes District Green group stated that it did not support the conference decision.
It also condemned antisemitism, racism, discrimination and bigotry, while reaffirming equal support for the rights of Jewish and Palestinian people.
Several individual Green councillors objected to Labour’s position that continued cooperation depended on repudiating the motion.
Ezra Cohen, the Green group’s deputy leader and, to the best of his knowledge, Lewes District Council’s only Jewish councillor, described the national party’s request as insulting and offensive.
He said Labour was once again requiring him to demonstrate that he was not antisemitic before local Labour representatives could continue working alongside him.
Councillor Charlotte Keenan, who did not attend the Brighton conference because of other commitments, also rejected the motion.
She said her opposition was unequivocal and that she did not apologise for her position.
Zoe Nicholson, who leads both Lewes District Council and its Green group, criticised the possible withdrawal of Labour from the partnership.
She referred to Andy Burnham’s call for political leadership centred on resolving problems rather than gaining advantage, and expressed concern that a successful council partnership could end while the Prime Minister was advocating collaboration and greater local authority.
The motion sought to formalise the Green Party’s condemnation of Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
The article reported that those actions had been responsible for at least 70,000 deaths since the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023.
Jewish commentators responded that Zionism has a range of meanings and predates the establishment of Israel.
They argued that describing Zionism as synonymous with racism would hinder Jewish people practising their religion in the UK.
A proposed conference amendment was designed to protect Jewish party members who attend synagogues identifying themselves as Zionist.
That amendment was rejected by delegates.
Despite the disagreement over the national policy, Lewes Green councillors asked their Labour counterparts to attend an open meeting concerning the future of the council’s joint administration.
They proposed an opportunity for both groups to discuss their differences honestly, listen to each other and explore a possible way to continue working together.