“It is wrong. It is antisemitic, and this side of the House will have nothing to do with it, and we will always take the right response when it comes to any partnerships we have with other parties.”
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Wednesday ruled out any future deal with the Green Party following its adoption of the “Zionism is racism” motion at its recent annual party conference.
During Prime Minister’s Questions in Parliament, Burnham was asked whether he would make “crystal clear” that “following the Green Party’s descent into the most abhorrent antisemitism... he will rule out cooperating with them.”
The prime minister responded by saying that he “unequivocally” condemns the motion that was passed by the Greens.
“It is wrong. It is antisemitic, and this side of the House will have nothing to do with it, and we will always take the right response when it comes to any partnerships we have with other parties,” he told the Speaker.
“We cannot support a partnership with a party that holds a position that has recently been adopted,” he said.
Blurring of challenging Israel and antisemitism
In response, Greens leader Zack Polanski said, “The dangerous and irresponsible blurring of challenging Israel and antisemitism is deeply revealing.”
“A Labour Government who apologized over their actions over Gaza is demonstrating that it was all performative. Andy Burnham still stands with Israel whilst it kills innocent people [sic].”
Polanski added that he is “the only Jewish leader of a political party” and, allegedly, the victim of antisemitism every day.
David Lammy’s former adviser in the Foreign Office, Ben Judah, said Burnham’s answer is “hugely welcome after the Greens measure has caused such shock and distress in the Jewish community.”
Burnham’s response came just hours after Reform UK leader Nigel Farage published an op-ed in The Jewish Chronicle calling on the Labor Party to “draw a red line” and announce that “there will be no electoral pacts with the Green Party. Not now, not ever.”
Farage: Sharing power with Greens legitimizes antisemitism
“The Green Party’s formal adoption of the poisonous doctrine that Zionism is racism has unequivocally placed it beyond the pale of civilized politics,” he said.
“Make no mistake, any political party that even contemplates sharing power with Mr. Polanski now would be legitimizing an ideology that denies the Jewish people the right to a homeland.”
Britain’s Green Party became the first mainstream party in Europe to declare itself openly anti-Zionist after voting on the controversial “Zionism is racism” motion at its party conference in Brighton on October 4, passing the motion by 1,022 votes to 813.
The motion recognizes Zionism as Israel’s foundational ideology and says it created and maintains an apartheid regime between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
It further affirms the right to self-determination and liberation of the Palestinian people and supports the establishment of a “single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine, with Jerusalem as its capital.”