New leader to make case for immigration, more investment in public services and a wealth tax as Green party membership hits record high

In an interview on the Today programme, Zack Polanski, the Green party leader, was asked at length about anti-Israel comments by the co-deputy leader, Mothin Ali, and other Green members. Polanski said some of the comments referenced were “totally unacceptable”, but he also said it was important to understand the context, and he said Ali deserved credit for apologising.

Justin Webb, the presenter, said that after 7 October Ali described Israelis as colonialists and defended the right of indigenous people to fight back. Ali apologised. But Ali had also targeted a Leeds-based rabbi who went to Israel after 7 October to serve as a reservist in the IDF, Webb said. He asked if Ali was the right person to be deputy leader of a political party.

Well, I want to be clear that I’m a Jewish person, and I feel this genocide incredibly deeply.

As a Muslim man, I can only imagine what it feels like to know that every single day in Palestine the equivalent of a classroom of children are dying.

It doesn’t excuse it, but I think it’s contextual. This rabbi went off to fight for the IDF … I absolutely defend [Ali’s] right to be annoyed and upset about what is happening.

I think there is a context to this. I think if someone goes to fight with an army who’s committing a genocide, that there are consequences.

Now I don’t stand by what Mothin said, and neither does he. But ultimately, I do think we need to have a context on this.