Three Green councillors confirm they voted against party's controversial 'Zionism is racism' motion

The motion has sparked controversy in the past few days with several of the party’s own MPs criticising the move by members to back it, reports Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter

Enfield's five Green councillors outside the civic centre after the May local election (credit Anna-Louise Adepegba) — Enfield’s five Green councillors outside the civic centre after the May local election (credit Anna-Louise Adepegba)

The leader of Enfield Labour has criticised the national Green Party’s controversial “Zionism is racism” motion as “irresponsible” – as three Green councillors confirm they voted against it.

The Green Party of England and Wales adopted the motion at its annual conference in Brighton this week, “formally establishing it as an anti-Zionist party”.

As well as defining Zionism as racism, the motion also called for a “single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine”.

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

In a vote on Sunday (4th), Green members in attendance at the party’s conference passed the anti-Zionism motion, with 1,022 votes in favour and 813 against.

The move has since sparked controversy, with the Green leader in Wales, Phil Davies, announcing his resignation from the party yesterday (Tuesday 6th). He described the anti-Zionism motion as “idiotic”.

Sarah Jons, leader of Enfield Council’s five-strong Green group, has now confirmed that she had voted against Sunday’s motion, 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”.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has also contacted Enfield’s two other Green councillors, Ratip Alsulaiman (Enfield Lock) and Aziz Yildiz (Ponders End), but they have not responded to requests for comment and it remains unclear whether they attended the anti-Zionism debate.

Acknowledging the third anniversary of the 7th October terror attack by Hamas against Israel, which killed 1,195 people, Cllr Jons added: “We recognise the grief and fear felt by Jewish communities, alongside the continuing suffering of Palestinians.”

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 Green Party, Sunday’s motion is 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”.

But former council leader Ergin Erbil, who remains leader of the Labour opposition group in Enfield, argued the motion was “irresponsible” and would “do nothing to bring about peace”.

Cllr Erbil added: “At a time when racism is on the rise across Britain, now more than ever we need our communities to stand together, against racism and all forms of hate.”

Cllr Jons added: “We oppose antisemitism in all its forms. As pacifists and human rights advocates, we oppose the oppression and dispossession of Palestinians. We want Palestinians and Israelis to live freely, safely and with equal rights.”

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