Israel Says It Will Bar Green Party Leader Zack Polanski

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has decided to bar Green Party of England and Wales leader Zack Polanski from entering Israel, the country’s Foreign Ministry said, after the party adopted a conference resolution defining Zionism as a form of racism. The ministry described the decision as a first step and said the resolution was antisemitic under the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition. The reports do not establish whether the restriction has been formally implemented or specify its terms. At the party conference in Brighton, members approved the motion by 1,022 votes to 813. It defines Zionism as racism and supports establishing a single democratic Palestinian state across historic Palestine. Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the resolution legitimizes armed struggle against Israel and denies the Jewish people’s right to self-determination. Those are the ministry’s characterizations; the supplied accounts do not independently resolve the competing assessments of the motion. Polanski did not take part in the vote. Reports said he had left the conference to campaign in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.