Green Party leader Zack Polanski has been barred from entering Israel after his party backed a motion declaring that “Zionism is racism”.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced the decision, saying the motion was antisemitic under the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition and denied the Jewish people’s right to self-determination.
Israeli authorities also said the motion legitimised armed struggle against Israel.
Polanski, who is Jewish, did not speak during the debate and is understood not to have voted. He had supported amendments aimed at watering down the motion, but they were defeated.
The decision has triggered fresh debate over the Green Party’s position on Israel and Palestine and its treatment of Jewish members.
VOA News
