I’ve been doing a little research into Lubna Speitan’s Zionism-is-Racism motion. It’s got the Zionist lobby in total meltdown, which means they see it as a very serious threat. Three amendments have already been tabled and there’s a counter-proposal motion (E03 ‘Building a Consensus in Support for Palestinian Liberation’). Further attempts to side line the motion are expected, given the level of filibustering earlier in the year (during spring conference). Wasting time effectively ensured the motion could not be considered at the time.
Concerns are also being raised about a possible split in the party. Never the less, despite all the internal disputes, the Greens can claim that they are already leading the way on the issue of securing Palestinian autonomy through their existing policies (anti-Israel, anti-apartheid, anti-genocide, pro-economic sanctions, pro-withdrawal of military & diplomatic support). It is however worth noting that what parties agree to do when not in government, isn’t always what they can deliver when in government. There is often a split between what the membership approves and what the parliamentary party will agree to deliver. My advice to Green Party members is that selecting the right policies is, of course, extremely important, but it’s equally important for members to be directly involved in candidate selections, and to make sure that they pick their parliamentary representatives very wisely indeed.
During her interview on Palestine Deep Dive, Lubna explains that there is a “racist root core ideology that [the Israeli] occupation and oppression and genocide is built upon, and that is Zionism… you cannot treat a problem without knowing it’s root core.” She makes it clear that that the goal must be “to declare the party an anti-Zionist party, to reject the normalisation of the subjugation of Palestinian voices… to support the establishment of a single Palestinian state with equal rights for all and the right of return for all Palestinians and their descendants… [that we should] support and affirm [the Palestinian] right to self-determination, to resist by all available means under international law… [that there should be] accountability, reparations [and] the deproscription of Palestine Action, and to support the demands of prisoners of Palestine… [and we must] call for the release of our prisoners, our Palestinian prisoners of conscience, including Marwan Barghouti”
Lubna talks about how a small group within the Green party had previously filibustered this motion at conference and have made false claims of anti-Semitism against the Greens for Palestine team. They’ve even gone so far as to report them to counter terrorism police, UK Lawyers for Israel and the Israeli Embassy (to see if they could bring some political influence to bear). Lubna tells us that the right wing press and the Jewish Board of Deputies (BOD) have also been on the attack, with the BOD even trying to pressure Starmer into taking action.
In a briefing to JBLOC, the Greens for Palestine team describes how political and media forces have also worked hard to vilify supporters of the motion, referring to them as ‘hard left extremists’, ‘Corbynistas’, ‘Islamists’, ‘supporters of Hamas-terrorism’ and ‘anti-Semites,’ and there is some concern that this could even turn some voters away from the party. However, going by past record, what tends to happen after a policy shift, especially one that doesn’t negatively impact the majority of voters, is that a small number of voters may decide to withdraw support but then there will also be a number of new voters, drawn to the Greens, who are in favour of the policy change.
Hesitation and doubt doesn’t inspire confidence so, to secure extra voter support, I would suggest being bold and principled. A clear majority in favour at conference would demonstrate that the Green Party membership is in full agreement, and this also sends a powerful message – that the party membership shares, and choose to represent, the values of the majority of UK voters.
I’d also like to add that I agree with the other guest in the Deep Dive interview when he reminds us that corporate media doesn’t always have the trust, or the influence, they claim. Some of us will recall, during the 2017 general election campaign, how the media were printing daily attacks on Corbyn and his supporters, often multiple page pullouts, that just seemed to help bolster support. In fact, the more they attacked the more the Labour Party polling figures grew. It was a phenomenon that I dont think was ever so clearly demonstrated before – a likeable, empathetic figure, with some rather interesting policies, being tarred and feathered by the British media and the political establishment, at a time when trust in the existing political establishment was extremely low. Corbyn’s Labour wiped the Tory majority and only lost the election because the Labour right had conspired to sabotage the Labour election campaign by redirecting a lot of campaign funds and resources to secure right wing seats, rather than target winnable marginal seats. We have seen this phenomenon repeated since, for example with the Mamdani (elected Mayor of New York City) and El-Sayed (selected the Democratic Party’s candidate for Michigan). Once again, trust in the establishment and their media allies is at an all time low in the US, and being principled and bold cuts through all the noise with ease.
I also agree with the teams conclusion in their JBLOC briefing document, that recent measures introduced by Ed Miliband are largely ‘ineffectual.’ It seems more likely that the intent was to take the wind out of Green Party sails. They wont be comfortable with the Green Party taking the lead on Palestine because it will cost them voters. In reality, Labour is anything but bold or principled when it comes to supporting Palestine. While the rest of us have witnessed a live stream genocide over the last three years, Labour have continued to supply arms, military support, intelligence and diplomatic cover. In fact they still haven’t stopped. The Parliamentary Labour Party thinks they can be fully complicit in a genocide and ignore settler colonialism in the West Bank for years and then simply placate us all with a two-state gimmick, the same gimmick that they’ve dangled in front of Palestinians for decades, with a massive caveat attached – their oppressor, their occupier, their genocider (Israel) gets to dictate when and if they will ever concede to it. Lubna reminds us in the interview that this motion was drafted by Palestinians… “this is OUR voices at the table.” She explains that the motion has had proper legal input and is also supported by anti-Zionist Jewish members. Make no mistake, this is the first step toward supporting Palestinian self-determination.
During the spring conference, Green Party members voted in large numbers to reject an attempt to rule the motion out of order. That vote was then immediately followed by a sudden spate of technical issues that ate into 3hrs of conference time. Then there were numerous votes of no confidence in the chair and every motion being heard was dragged out unnecessarily, to further waste time. It’s pretty obvious that this was a concerted effort to stop Lubna’s motion from being heard at spring conference. The Greens for Palestine team continued to be beset with issues even after the spring conference. They’ve been targeted with a witch hunt and some members have already been suspended, all apparently in an effort to stop the motion being heard at Autumn conference. All credit to the team, because despite numerous efforts to block it, they’ve made sure the motion is on the table and that it will be debated.
When asked, what does Zionism mean to you as a Palestinian? Lubna responds… “it’s the embodiment of every form of oppression… of racism, of fascism, of imperialism, of colonialism.. it’s endless, it’s genocide, it’s apartheid, it’s the demolishing of our homes, of our land, the slaughter of our people, the erasure of our identity, our culture… we are confronting not just an ideology but a practice… that extends far beyond Palestine” adding that Zionism is an expansionist project that threatens the entire world. Lubna points out, beyond Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Iran, we now have a global threat… “it’s already occupied even our system here, you’ve got Palantir, the occupation of the NHS, the investments made… the Zionist lobby has captured even our own political arenas… I’m being hit by every aspect of the Zionist lobby, and this is British politics?… our basic civil liberties are now on the line, our right of freedom of speech and protest are also at risk. This should be a concern for everybody. If anyone wants to truly oppose oppression, state repression in all its forms, they should be opposing Israel and Zionism and hitting back with us, for all our sakes”
On the Zionist lobby, Lubna concludes that the lobby “is a mass propaganda machine.” She also calls out the disinformation constantly put out by our mainstream media. Lubna is clear, this motion is a way to finally address this pervasive false narrative…. “this is us refusing to be silent. This is us fighting back against weaponisation of anti-Semitism, with state repression… its not about the party politics or the leadership, this is about the Palestinian voices, this is about the people, and the people leading the people. We need to raise our hands and use our votes, here, to change the face of British politics.” Lubna explains that the motion has already been passed at union branches and even some party branches. She sees it as a movement that crosses all party boundaries and affiliations, and, for Lubna, this fight will not stop until the Palestinian people are liberated.
If we genuinely support the liberation of the Palestinian people and want to end a decades long occupation and genocide then here’s an opportunity to take a massive step in that direction. If you’re a Green Party member, vote FOR the motion. If you’re not a member then support our Green Party pro-Palestinian comrades by helping to raise awareness. Start by sharing this article to groups and facilitating debate around the Palestinian struggle.
Solidarity!
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