Board of Deputies of British Jews votes to declare the Green Party a racist party over its 'Zionism is racism' policy

The Board of Deputies of British Jews voted 118 to one that the Green Party of England and Wales has become a 'racist party' by adopting a 'Zionism is racism' policy at its conference. The Greens rejected the characterisation; leader Zack Polanski said on BBC television he would not overturn the policy but wants to amend it.

L 27%C 9%R 64%

L 27% · C 9% · R 64% · 11 outlets

Left 1 · Centre-left 2 · Centre 1 · Centre-right 3 · Right 4

Context Sources by lean Video Deep dive Follow the money More coverage

How each side framed it

Left-leaning outlets

The party's response: 'Polanski to amend zionism is racism policy' (Morning Star), saying he will not overturn it.

Centre outlets

Centre-rated outlets headline it: “Board of Deputies of British Jews declares Greens to be racist party” (BBC News).

Right-leaning outlets

The vote: 'Greens are a racist party, says Jewish group' (Telegraph); 'Greens branded racist' (The Sun).

Context

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Sources by lean

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Showing 1 from each side of 11 rated outlets (L 3 / C 1 / R 7). Capped at 1 because that is all we found on the thinnest side. More coverage

Video

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Deep dive

A short prompt for thinking it through. We write a fuller side-by-side deep dive for the day's biggest stories.

The paradox: Both the Board and the Greens say they are acting against racism.

What each side may be protecting: The Board: Jewish identity and safety in politics. The Greens: the right to criticise Israel and Zionism.

A question to hold: Shared question: what wording would let the Greens criticise Israeli policy without the Board calling it antisemitic?

Try it: open one left and one right article in Sources by lean and note what each takes for granted.

Follow the money

Not yet researched. We haven't yet looked at who gains or loses financially from this story, or who funds the main voices on each side. When we do, we check company filings, the Electoral Commission donations register, lobbying registers, annual reports, InfluenceMap and OpenSecrets, and we apply the same checks to every side. How we follow the money.

Who owns or funds the outlets covering this story (12 outlets)

Outlet	Lean	Ownership & funding (MBFC)
Morning Star	Left	The Morning Star is owned by the People’s Press Printing Society, a cooperative that readers can join. Revenue is derived through subscription fees, advertising, print sales, and donations. source
Times of Israel	Centre-left	The Times of Israel is co-owned by David Horovitz and Seth Klarman. Revenue is generated through advertising..push({}); source
Ynet News	Centre-left	Yedioth Ahronoth owns Ynetnews. Advertising derives revenue. source
BBC News	Centre	The BBC operates under a Royal Charter. Oversight is managed by the BBC Board, and regulatory authority rests with Ofcom. source
Jerusalem Post	Centre-right	In 1989, the paper was purchased by Hollinger Inc. for $17-million, which Canadian-born British Conservative Conrad Black owned. Conrad Black later was charged with “swindling his company, Hollinger International, of $60 million.” He was serving a prison sentence; however, in 2019, President Donald Trump pardoned him. source
The Jewish Chronicle	Centre-right	In 2020, The Jewish Chronicle was purchased by a consortium of philanthropists led by Sir Robbie Gibb and others, rescuing the paper from financial collapse. However, the full details of its ownership and funding remain unclear, as the financial backers of the consortium have not been fully disclosed. Speculation about involvement from figures such as billionaire Paul E. source
The Times	Centre-right	The Times and Sunday Times is owned by News UK (News Corp UK & Ireland Limited), which American News Corp owns. The owner and Executive Chairman of News Corp are Rupert Murdoch. Revenue is derived from advertising and subscription fees. source
Daily Mail	Right	The Daily Mail is published by Associated Newspapers Limited, part of Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT). DMGT is controlled by the Rothermere family and is 100% owned by Rothermere Continuation Limited. Jonathan Harmsworth, 4th Viscount Rothermere, serves as Chairman..push({}); DMGT became privately owned after delisting from the London Stock Exchange in 2022. source
GB News	Right	GB News lacks transparency as they do not disclose ownership. A search reveals that London-based ALL Perspectives Ltd owns GB News. According to Reuters, the television channel “secured millions of dollars from investors such as Discovery Inc, Legatum and hedge fund manager Paul Marshall. source
The Sun	Right	The Sun is published by the News Group Newspapers division of News UK, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. The paper generates revenue through advertising, newsstand sales, and subscriptions. source
The Telegraph	Right	Telegraph Media Group (TMG) owns The Telegraph, which is owned by Press Acquisitions Ltd., which in turn is owned by Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay. In 2004, Twin Brothers Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay acquired the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph from the Canadian media company Hollinger Inc. for £665 million. For a complete list of Board members, see here. source
Jewish News	Not rated	No ownership data found