Conference Agenda Oct 2021 PRINT - Flipbook - Page 103
de Keyser, Mike Shaugnessy, Paul Philo, Roy Sandison
(15))
Synopsis:
The Green Party reaffirms its long-standing support for the
BDS campaign, which aims to end international support
for Israel’s regime of settler colonialism and apartheid. On
those grounds, the phrase ‘apartheid Israel’ is anti-racist
– not antisemitic, as falsely implied by an example in the
IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism. (49)
Motion text:
1. The Green Party reaffirms its commitment to promote
active participation in the anti-racist campaign for Boycott
Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), originally called by
Palestinian civil society organizations. Pro-BDS motions
were passed at the spring 2008 conference and autumn
2014 conference (‘Israel’s Ground Invasion’, upper righthand corner at https://policy.greenparty.org.uk/ip).
We further endorse the BDS campaign’s peaceful aim:
‘to pressure Israel to comply with international law and
to end international support for Israel’s regime of settler
colonialism and apartheid’ (https://bdsmovement.net/
colonialism-and-apartheid/summary). That phrase clearly
identifies the cause of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
On that basis, the BDS campaign targets companies
complicit in Israel’s colonization and apartheid regime in
all of historic Palestine, including its illegal occupation of
Palestinian territories. The BDS call also targets events
sponsored by Israeli state agencies.
2. For several years the UK government has sought
to prevent public bodies from boycotting Israel and
companies complicit in its violations of international law. It
has been planning new legislation for this purpose, as well
as for a reverse boycott: to prohibit local authorities from
contracting with companies that divest from Israel.
The Green Party will work with other groups to oppose
such government restrictions on organisations exercising
their democratic right and ethical responsibility. The right
to advocate BDS has been affirmed by the European Court
of Human Rights (ECHR), https://www.palestinecampaign.
org/echr-upholds-right-to-bds-in-major-victory-forpalestine-campaigners/
3. On the website of the International Holocaust
Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), a Working Definition of
Antisemitism includes several contentious examples,
especially ‘Denying the Jewish people their right to
self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence
of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour’. This example
is deceptive for several reasons: it equates Jews’
self-determination with the Israeli state, it broadens
antisemitism to encompass the phrase ‘apartheid Israel’,
and so it provides a weapon for falsely accusing the BDS
campaign of antisemitism. Such false accusations have
been used to deny venues for public events or to restrict
speakers. The Green Party rejects that IHRA example of
supposed antisemitism.
D09
DIVERSITY IN TARGET SEATS
Benali Hamdache*, Daniel Duffy, Charlene Concepcion,
Daniel Key, Conor Maloney, Siobhan MacMahon, Pau
Jimenez Ingles, Matt Browne, Samir Jeraj, Billy Wassell,
Callum Smith, A C Baker, Susie O’Connor, Stefan
Liberadzki, Ben Groom, Anne Hamdache, RoseMary
Warrington, Alexander Catt, David Farbey (19)
Synopsis:
Since at least 2010 every single declared target
Westminster seat for the Green Party has had a white
candidate. For our party to break out of our white middle
class stereotype we must select candidates from a wider
pool. This motion seeks to start a process to fix this. (49)
Motion text:
Insert into Record of Organisational Statements:
Conference instructs Green Party Regional Council to:
Convene a working group (made up of representatives from
leadership, Greens of Colour, AGC, GPEx, SOC and other
necessary groups) to discuss and debate possible options
to address a lack of diversity in our target candidates.
This will include looking at quotas and training schemes.
The party now has a list of target and development seats
to consider when looking at candidate diversity and a
plan for these seats must be made ahead of any General
Election in 2023 or 2024.
This working group will also look at the issue of collecting
accurate demographic data from all candidates - including
making it a prerequisite to be a candidate for the Green
Party. Thereafter this group will run a workshop at the next
conference to debate options. Then present a voting paper
at the following conference after that to be voted upon.
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