Brighton and Hove council leader Bella Sankey condemns Green Party's 'Zionism is racism' motion
Councillor Bella Sankey, the Labour Leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, has condemned a “Zionism is racism” motion passed at the Green Party’s conference in the city on Sunday 4 October, calling it “divisive, discriminatory and wrong”.
Cllr Sankey said she was “deeply concerned” that the motion rejected the right of the Jewish people to self-determination and a two-state solution, and “disturbed” that the conference also voted down an amendment designed to protect Jewish members from discrimination. She said she was “appalled” that the debate took place at the Brighton Centre, the city’s own conference venue.
Bella Sankey: ‘It undermines everything our City of Sanctuary stands for’
The council leader said the motion “dangerously conflates the ancient and enduring right of Jewish self-determination with the actions of the Israeli Government”.
“We can condemn the Israeli government’s actions and stand firmly for Palestinian freedom without vilifying Jewish self-determination and a two-state solution,” she said, warning that the motion was “a flagrant attack on the right to religious freedom” that may be unlawful and risked the safety of Jewish members and Jewish people more widely.
She accused the Green leadership of a “dereliction of duty” and criticised party leader Zack Polanski for not attending the debate, which she described as “shocking moral cowardice”. Her question to the Greens nationally and locally, she said, was simple: “what are you going to do to keep Jewish members safe?”
Future conferences in Brighton
Cllr Sankey said she would be “deeply concerned” about the prospect of the Green Party returning to Brighton for future conferences, adding that the Brighton Centre “is owned by all of us in the City and should never be a place where people feel excluded due to their religion or beliefs”.
“As a Labour Council Leader, I will stand up for a Brighton and Hove where everyone belongs,” she said. “Our city has rightfully stood up for the people of Palestine and a viable two-state solution, but we will never accept antisemitism in the pursuit of peace.”
Addressing Jewish residents directly, she added: “We stand with you. Your place in Brighton and Hove is not conditional on passing anyone’s purity test.”
- Bella Sankey
- Brighton and Hove
- Brighton and Hove Labour
- Green Party
- Antisemitism
- Zionism
- Israel
- Palestine
- Two-state solution