UK Green Party calls for IDF to be proscribed as ‘terrorist organization’

Proscribing the IDF would make both membership in and public support for Israel’s military a criminal offense in the UK.

By Jewish Breaking News Staff

Days after a terrorist attack on a Manchester synagogue left two Jewish worshippers dead, the Green Party voted overwhelmingly to urge the UK government to proscribe the Israeli Defense Forces as a terrorist organization alongside groups like al-Qaeda and Hamas.

Members at the party’s conference in Bournemouth on Sunday passed the motion calling for Britain to designate the IDF as a terrorist organization, which would make both membership in and public support for Israel’s military a criminal offense in the UK. Proscribing an organization under the Terrorism Act 2000 places it on the same list as Islamic State, Hezbollah and neo-Nazi groups like National Action.

The motion also called on elected Green representatives to push the UK government to “support and resource the international case of genocide against Israel at the International Criminal Court,” implement a full arms embargo on Israel, end the training of Israeli soldiers by British forces, and stop spy plane flights over Gaza from the British military base in Cyprus.

Additional provisions demanded Israel withdraw all troops from Gaza, cease military operations in Palestinian airspace, and allow delivery of sustainable aid, potentially via UK shipping. Members also voted to call for deployment of a UN peacekeeping force in Gaza and the West Bank and for a formal UK apology for the Balfour Declaration.

Party Leader Zack Polanski told delegates there was a “moral imperative” to support the motion, adding that Israel’s actions in Gaza aren’t just war crimes but “genocide,” backed by UN reports. To cheers, he then tied the issue to climate justice, saying “colonial oppression and environmental ruin” are linked. He also has called for the proscription of “Palestine Action” as a terrorist organization to be withdrawn.”

The Green Party conference took place just days after Jihad Al-Shamie drove a car into worshippers outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur, then attacked people with a knife before being shot dead by police. Two Jewish community members, Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, were killed in the attack. Police later determined one victim was likely struck by police gunfire as congregants barricaded the door to prevent Al-Shamie from entering.

Following that attack, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood called pro-Hamas protests “fundamentally un-British” and introduced new police powers to crack down on repeated demonstrations.

However, Polanski accused Mahmood of being “deeply irresponsible” fro banning anti-Israel protests in comments to Sky News.

“I think ultimately conflating protests against a genocide in Gaza and ultimately weaponising that against an antisemitic attack on our streets—a terrorist attack—is deeply irresponsible. Democratic, non-violent protest is a cornerstone of our democracy” he said.

“Speaking as a member of the Jewish community I wouldn’t want anyone to feel like they had to be silent about a genocide that is happening because of an outrageous, atrocious attack that happened on our soil too. These are separate things and we should condemn them all.”

Polanski has often compared himself to famous Jewish political leaders like Benjamin Disraeli, Michael Howard and Ed Miliband in interviews, saying he is “one of five Jewish people who have been in leadership positions in British political history in the last 100 years.”