Greens investigate party member behind Zionism motion

The Green Party has opened an internal investigation into member Lubna Speitan after court documents identified her as a “close friend” of Minh Quang Pham, a man later convicted in the United States for supporting al‑Qaeda. Speitan, a British‑Palestinian artist, was the author of a contentious motion at the party’s recent conference that defined Zionism as an ideology supporting an “ethnonationalist Jewish state” and called for a single democratic Palestinian state across historic Palestine. The motion passed with 1,022 votes to 813, making it official party policy under Green rules, though it is not guaranteed a place in the party’s next election manifesto. In response, the party’s spokesperson said that members whose views conflict with party values will be investigated, confirming that an inquiry into Speitan’s conduct is now underway.

The controversy deepened when a June United Nations commission of inquiry concluded that Israel had deliberately targeted Palestinian children in Gaza, labeling the actions as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes—a finding Israel rejects as self‑defence. Speitan’s motion, which framed Zionism as a form of racism, drew sharp criticism from opposition parties and Jewish groups, who described it as an attack on the Jewish community. Former Green leader and MP Adrian Ramsay called the motion an “unhelpful distraction” and “wrong in principle,” emphasizing the party’s historic support for self‑determination for all peoples. He said he was consulting with Jewish Greens, fellow MPs and senior party figures to restore unity, while refusing to rule out leaving the party.

Further scrutiny arose from a 2015 letter in which Speitan offered to testify for Pham’s defence, describing him as a trusted friend and vouching for his character despite his later conviction for plotting an al‑Qaeda‑directed attack on Heathrow Airport. US court filings listed her as a “close friend” who could speak to Pham’s mental state, though there is no evidence she knew of his criminal plans. Speitan responded on Instagram, rejecting “defamatory and nonsense claims” and accusing critics of decontextualising her past statements, while reaffirming her stance that “racism is, Zionism is, the ethnic cleansing and genocide of Palestinians is.” The Green Party clarified that Speitan holds no official party position beyond membership, and the ongoing investigation will determine whether her actions breach party standards.

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