Ponders End councillor issues statement on Green Party's controversial anti-Zionism motion

Aziz Yildiz says he does not support the recent ‘Zionism is racism’ motion passed by the national party at its conference this month, reports Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter

Aziz Yildiz, Green councillor for Ponders End (credit Enfield Council)

A fourth Green councillor in Enfield has said they do not support the controversial ‘Zionism is racism’ motion passed by the national party earlier this month.

The Green Party of England and Wales adopted the motion on Sunday, 4th October at its annual conference in Brighton, “formally establishing it as an anti-Zionist party” while also calling for a “single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine”, which includes present-day Israel.

Both the UK government and United Nations (UN) advocate for a two-state solution to the long-running Israel-Palestine conflict.

In a statement recently shared with the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Green councillor Aziz Yildiz confirmed that he did not take part in the vote at his party’s conference, adding: “Had I participated, I would have voted against the motion.”

Green members in attendance passed the anti-Zionism motion, by 1,022 votes to 813. The move continues to spark controversy, both nationally and within the party itself.

Speaking soon after the motion was passed, the leader of Enfield Council’s five-strong Green group, Sarah Jons, confirmed she had voted against it, alongside fellow councillors Laura Davenport and Madeline Church.

Speaking “in a personal capacity, not on behalf of Enfield Greens”, Cllr Jons said the three councillors “respect the conference decision while retaining our right as members to disagree with policy”.

At that time the LDRS reached out to Enfield’s two other Green councillors, Ratip Alsulaiman (Enfield Lock) and Aziz Yildiz (Ponders End), but did not receive a response.

However, Cllr Yildiz has this week confirmed his opposition to the motion, saying: “I support the right of both Palestinians and Israelis to live in peace, security and with equal rights, including the Palestinian people’s right to independence and self-determination.

“I oppose antisemitism, Islamophobia and all forms of racism and discrimination.

“As a councillor, I remain committed to representing all members of our diverse community with fairness and respect.”

Cllr Alsulaiman has still not shared his views on the matter, however.

Former council leader Ergin Erbil, who remains leader of the Labour opposition group in Enfield, called the Green Party motion “irresponsible” and said it would “do nothing to bring about peace”.

Zionism first emerged in the late 19th Century as a movement to create a homeland for Jewish people.

But the current Israeli government’s support for illegal settlements in the West Bank, as well as its war in Gaza where more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks since October 2023, have led to an upsurge in anti-Zionist sentiment worldwide.

The settlements have been described by the UN as “a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-state solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace”.

In September 2025, an independent UN commission also found that the Israeli government had “committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip”.

Many argue that any explicitly anti-Zionist political policy, however, is inherently antisemitic because it denies the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state.

According to the national Green Party, their motion was not antisemitic as it “sets out the party’s opposition to Zionism, defined as an ethnonationalist political project, and states that anti-Zionism should not be equated with antisemitism”.

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