"Extreme": Senior Labour councillor blasts Sheffield Greens as Zionism row ends cross-party alliance
“The local [Green] party have rejected that and have chosen an approach which is far more extreme than their sister parties across the country”
A Sheffield Labour council committee chair has said that the city’s Green Party have drastically changed in the past year as an argument over Zionism has destroyed ties between the two.
Councillor Mark Rusling has addressed his concerns as the local Labour Party are set to bid for a minority leadership agreement at a meeting in town hall on Wednesday, November 4.
The split between Labour and Greens comes after the national Green Party supported a controversial ‘Zionism is Racism’ motion, which has been blasted by critics as being antisemitic.
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Coun Rusling, who chairs the Environmental Services and Regulation Policy Committee, said: “The Green Party conference, held in Brighton at the start of October, showed how far the party has changed from the one we joined with just a few months ago.
“The party voted for the elimination of Israel by violent means. A party that used to be pacifist now calls for the violent removal of a state that actually exists, with virtually nothing to say about the state that would replace it.”
He argues that the Green’s position fails to distinguish the behaviours of Israeli government officials from the legitimate beliefs of Jewish people, or indeed individuals living in Israel who reject their government’s actions.
“This is clearly wrong, and we know that many people in the Sheffield Green Party agree with us,” he added.
“Their new position stops them from seeing the people who really are racist. It is a more extreme position than the Palestinian Authority’s own approach, which calls for a two-state solution.
“One British party in the 1970s and 1980s held the same position: the National Front. Of current British political parties, I understand that four hold this position: the Workers Revolutionary Party, the Communist Party of Great Britain (Provisional Central Committee), the Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist-Leninist), and the Green Party of England and Wales.
“This is the company that the Green Party have chosen to keep. We cannot continue to keep company with them while they choose this path.”
Coun Rusling, who represents the Shiregreen and Brightside, said that Labour have been attempting to reconcile with the Greens over the past few weeks however have failed to come to an agreement.
He argues that the local Green contingent have “chosen an approach which is far more extreme than their sister parties across the country” by failing to address concerns while even the party’s national leader and MPs have chosen to distance themselves from the motion.
He went on to say: “This is not about our views on Netanyahu or the Israeli government. It is about our support for British communities, and for the self-determination of all peoples in the Middle East.
“For what it’s worth, it is clear to me that certain Israeli ministers’ language over Gaza shows genocidal intent. War crimes or worse may have been committed in Gaza. Illegal settlements and other policies in the West Bank are designed by some to make a Palestinian state nonviable. And in the last week, since the Israeli election, Netanyahu has clearly sought to delegitimise Israeli Arab votes and voters in ways that cannot be described as anything other than racist.
“Yair Golan (Leader of the Israeli Democrats, who said: ‘We can no longer accept Netanyahu’s racist distinction between Jewish and Arab votes’) was right to call this out. We should do the same.
“But the Green Party’s current approach does not do that – it singles out a group of our fellow citizens and makes their lives in this country more constrained and fearful. We cannot support that approach.”
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Sheffield Greens have backed their position, saying that local people have “been used as pawns in a cynical political game” by national Labour leadership.
A statement from the party adds: “We are committed to ensuring that Sheffield is a diverse, welcoming and tolerant place.
“We will continue to speak up for Palestinians and against Labour’s complicity in the genocide.
“Let us be clear about where we stand. We do not, and will not, conflate Zionism with Judaism, or anti-Zionism with antisemitism. We are an anti-racist party and we stand with all of Sheffield’s communities, as we always have.
“We thank all the people and groups who have been in touch with messages of support recognising our hard work.”