Wales’ First Minister says Green Party Zionist motion was ‘ill-judged’
First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth has said the Green Party policy declaring Zionism a form of racism is “ill-judged”.
Speaking in the Senedd on Tuesday, ap Iorwerth said he always advocated the two-state solution and stood “shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish communities in Wales”.
He was responding to Reform’s Helen Jenner, who accused “left-wing parties” of having a “sickening anti-semitism problem”.
The Green Party of England and Wales formally adopted the controversial policy saying Zionism – broadly taken to mean support for Israel’s existence, and its right to existence, as a Jewish state – was racism at its conference on Sunday.
The Green Party has been asked to comment.
The topic came up at First Minister’s Questions in the Senedd with the leader of Reform in Wales saying there was what she called a “sickening anti-Semitism problem among left-wing parties”.
“We’ve seen it in Labour, we’ve seen it in Plaid, and just last weekend, the Green Party of England and Wales formally adopted a policy saying Zionism is racism,” said Jenner.
Ap Iorwerth replied saying he had “always advocated the two-state solution” in the Middle East, and called the Greens’ policy change “ill-judged”.
He added that he stood “shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish communities in Wales and makes a stand against antisemitism, as I do Islamophobia”.
The Green Party motion, which has divided senior party figures, supports the “establishment of a single democratic Palestinian State in all of historic Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital, equal rights for all, and the right of return for Palestinians and their descendants”.
It defines Zionism as an ideology supporting “an ethnonationalist Jewish state”.
The motion has been condemned by some Jewish groups and Israel’s foreign ministry.
The leader of the Green Party for England and Wales, Zak Polanski, wanted changes to the motion which were rejected by the conference.
Polanski, who is Jewish, did not take part in the vote on Sunday.
Of the Greens’ five MPs, four opposed the motion.
The leader of the Wales Green Party, Anthony Slaughter, did not attend the conference as he is being treated for cancer but he told BBC Wales he would not have supported the motion about Zionism “without amendment”.
He said it was “not appropriate for the Green party to be calling for a one-state solution”.
He said: “As previously stated, I stand firm in my belief that there is no conflict between supporting the rights of the Palestinian people and the rights of Jewish people.
“The Green Party has always stood to uphold universal human rights, and it is my responsibility as the Wales Green Party Leader to ensure that our party is standing up for safety and freedom for all.
“We are not ashamed of our track record, and we stand by everything we’ve said in criticising the actions of the Israeli government and the Israeli Army,” Slaughter added.
The Green Party has been asked for a response to the comments made in the Senedd about the motion but previously a spokesperson said: “This has been a serious and deeply felt debate within our membership. Our members value the ability to bring forward and decide party policy, and conference has now made its decision.
“The Green Party is an anti-racist party and has consistently opposed the illegal occupation of both Palestinian and Syrian land, called for an end to arms sales to the Israeli government and spoken out fearlessly about the devastating situation in Gaza and the West Bank. Those positions remain central to our approach. So too does our deeply held commitment to equality, justice and human rights for all and opposition to racism in all its forms”.
