Welsh first minister says Green Party Zionist motion was ill-judged
Rhun ap Iorwerth says he stands "shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish communities in Wales".
Welsh first minister says Green Party Zionist motion was ill-judged
Rhun ap Iorwerth told the Senedd on Tuesday he had "always advocated the two-state solution" in the Middle East
First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth has described the Green Party policy that labels Zionism a form of racism as "ill-judged".
Speaking in the Senedd on Tuesday, ap Iorwerth said he had always backed the two-state solution and stood "shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish communities in Wales".
He was replying to Reform's Helen Jenner, who said "left-wing parties" had a "sickening antisemitism problem".
The Green Party of England and Wales formally approved the contentious policy at its conference on Sunday, saying Zionism – broadly understood to mean support for Israel's existence, and its right to exist, as a Jewish state – was racism.
The issue was raised at First Minister's Questions in the Senedd, where the leader of Reform in Wales said there was what she called a "sickening antisemitism problem among left-wing parties".
"We've seen it in Labour, we've seen it in Plaid, and just last weekend, the Green Party of England and Wales formally adopted a policy saying Zionism is racism," said Jenner.
Ap Iorwerth responded that he had "always advocated the two-state solution" in the Middle East, and described the Greens' policy shift as "ill-judged".
He said he stands "shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish communities in Wales and makes a stand against antisemitism, as I do Islamophobia".
The Green Party motion, which has split senior party figures, backs the "establishment of a single democratic Palestinian State in all of historic Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital, equal rights for all, and the right of return for Palestinians and their descendants".
It defines Zionism as an ideology supporting "an ethnonationalist Jewish state".
The motion has been criticised by some Jewish groups and Israel's foreign ministry.
Zak Polanski, the leader of the Green Party for England and Wales, sought changes to the motion, but they were rejected by the conference.
Polanski, who is Jewish, did not vote on Sunday.
Four of the Greens' five MPs opposed the motion.
Anthony Slaughter, leader of the Wales Green Party, did not attend the conference because he is being treated for cancer, but he told BBC Wales he would not have backed the motion on Zionism "without amendment".
He said it was "not appropriate for the Green party to be calling for a one-state solution".
He said: "As previously stated, I stand firm in my belief that there is no conflict between supporting the rights of the Palestinian people and the rights of Jewish people.
"The Green Party has always stood to uphold universal human rights, and it is my responsibility as the Wales Green Party Leader to ensure that our party is standing up for safety and freedom for all.
"We are not ashamed of our track record, and we stand by everything we've said in criticising the actions of the Israeli government and the Israeli army," Slaughter added.
The Green Party has been asked for a response to the comments made in the Senedd about the motion, but previously a spokesperson said: "This has been a serious and deeply felt debate within our membership. Our members value the ability to bring forward and decide party policy, and conference has now made its decision.
"The Green Party is an anti-racist party and has consistently opposed the illegal occupation of both Palestinian and Syrian land, called for an end to arms sales to the Israeli government and spoken out fearlessly about the devastating situation in Gaza and the West Bank.
"Those positions remain central to our approach. So too does our deeply held commitment to equality, justice and human rights for all and opposition to racism in all its forms."