Ahead of elections, Green Party stands by Israel boycott stance

As Britain prepares to go to the polls in two weeks, the Green party has stuck by its support for a boycott of Israel, the only mainstream party to take such a position.

Speaking to The Jewish Chronicle last Friday, Green Party leader Natalie Bennett emphasised that “the boycott of Israel is Green Party policy.”

She added: “We need to get the message across to the Israeli state. It needs to comply with international law and human rights.”

The Green Party manifesto calls for the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, the framework for a preferential trade deal and other areas of co-operation.

Bennett stressed that the “agreement should be contingent on respecting human rights and international law”, and that “until Israel is in compliance with international law, I don’t think we should have that trade deal.”

She also backed an Israel arms embargo, and the use of “diplomatic pressure to push Israel to respect international law and UN resolutions.”

Meanwhile, the Green Party candidate for Richmond and Twickenham drew the ire of the Board of Deputies of British Jews last week for describing Israel as “a racist state and an apartheid state” at an Amnesty International-organised hustings.

Asked how she would tackle Israel’s violations of international law, Tanya Williams stated that Britain needs “to stop supporting Israel, whether that’s trading arms with them or politically, or treating them like a beacon of democracy in the Middle East which they are not.”

Highlighting Israel’s destruction of Palestinian civilian infrastructure and violations of the Geneva Convention, Williams compared Israel to Apartheid South Africa, saying: “I think it is time to stand up to the myth that Israel and Palestine are both equal participants in this conflict.”

Williams’ comments prompted a furious response from The Board of Deputies of British Jews, with vice president Alex Brummer claiming that the remarks “can only fuel antagonism against the British Jewish community at a time when anti-Semitism is on the rise.”

The Richmond and Twickenham Green Party, however, was unfazed by the Board’s comments, stating that it “fully endorses [Williams’] comments”, which, the statement said, “fully reflect Green policy on the conflict between Palestine and Israel as stated in our manifesto.”