Westminster Council Prepares Joint Motion Declaring Zionism Is Not Racism

Conservative and Labour councillors in Westminster are preparing a joint motion for the full council to vote on this Wednesday evening. The proposal declares that Zionism is not racism, a direct response to a motion adopted by the Green Party last month which labeled Zionism as a form of racism. The vote is expected to be a significant political event, with the Conservative Party holding a majority on the council.

The motion was proposed by Conservative councillor Hannah Galley and seconded by Labour councillor David Boothroyd. It defines Zionism in its most widely understood sense as the belief that the Jewish people have the right to national self-determination in their historic homeland. The text notes that for a majority of British Jews, this belief forms part of their Jewish identity, although views on Zionism, the State of Israel, and its government vary widely among Jewish people.

The proposed resolution explicitly states that Zionism is not racism and that support for the Jewish people’s right to self-determination is not racist. It asserts that Jewish people are entitled to the same right to national self-determination as any other people. The motion also commits the council to reviewing its equality, diversity, and community cohesion training and policies within six months to ensure they remain consistent with the working definition of antisemitism provided by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, or IHRA.

The use of the IHRA definition has been a point of contention recently. The lead author of the definition partially disowned it last week, stating that it has become poisoned and that most people are using it to target pro-Palestinian speech. The Westminster motion cites the IHRA definition, which lists claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor as an example of antisemitism.

A legal notice seen by Middle East Eye warns that passing the motion as currently drafted could place Westminster City Council in breach of the Equality Act of 2010. Gary Spedding, an independent political consultant, sent the notice this week, arguing that the motion risks adversely impacting Palestinian, British-Palestinian, Arab, and associated Muslim residents. He noted that these groups hold protected characteristics of race, nationality, and belief under the Act.

Spedding’s notice argues that for many Palestinian residents, the historical and ongoing manifestation of Zionism is associated with displacement, statelessness, and systemic inequality. He stated that officially declaring the ideology free of discriminatory character could marginalize and silence the lived experiences of these constituents. This, he warned, risks creating an exclusionary public sphere that might amount to unlawful harassment under Section 26 of the Equality Act.

The legal notice further suggests that using the IHRA definition to pre-emptively declare that specific political viewpoints regarding Zionism cannot be scrutinized suppresses legitimate political discourse. The notice emphasizes that public bodies are required to eliminate discrimination and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not.

The motion comes amid a broader political rift between Labour and the Green Party. Last week, Labour decided to stop cooperating with the Greens in 11 councils across England following the Greens’ adoption of the policy that Zionism is racism. The affected councils include Arun, Derbyshire Dales, Havant, Lewes, Sheffield, Stafford, Warwick, Wealden, West Devon, and West Suffolk.

Bridget Phillipson, the Labour chair, said the Green motion crosses a line, making it difficult to work with any party that supports it at any level of government. Prime Minister Andy Burnham previously denounced the Green motion as antisemitic, a claim the Green Party rejected, stating it would not take lectures from a government that supplies weapons to Israel.

Green leader Zack Polanski, who is Jewish, commented that Labour’s decision to halt cooperation would likely backfire on the party. He argued that the Green Party focuses on taxing billionaires, tackling the climate crisis, and stopping the arming of what he described as a genocide. In contrast, he claimed Labour wants to interrupt local services and impose support for that conflict from its local councils. The Westminster council has not yet responded to requests for comment on the motion or the legal notice.