Westminster City Council will vote next week on a joint Conservative and Labour motion declaring that Zionism is not racism, Cllr Paul Swaddle, Leader of Westminster City Council, has told MyLondon. The motion will be moved by Cllr Hannah Galley, Cabinet Member for Children and Education, and seconded by Labour’s Cllr David Boothroyd at Full Council on Wednesday 11 November.
The motion responds to the “Zionism is racism” resolution passed by the Green Party of England and Wales at its conference last month. It notes that Zionism is widely understood as the belief that the Jewish people have the right to national self-determination in their historic homeland, and that criticism of the policies and actions of the Israeli Government is legitimate and not antisemitic.
If the motion is agreed, the council will affirm that Zionism is not racism and reaffirm its support for Jewish residents in Westminster. Cllr Swaddle and the Leader of the Opposition, Cllr Ellie Ormsby, will write to local synagogues and the London Jewish Forum to offer reassurance, and the council will review its equality, diversity and community cohesion training and policies within six months to make sure they remain consistent with the IHRA working definition of antisemitism.
Cllr Swaddle said: “Antisemitism has no place in Westminster, and Jewish residents should never be made to feel unwelcome in public life because of who they are. After the hate marches and attacks the Jewish community has faced in our city, they should not have to hear a political party declare that Zionism should be treated like any other form of racism. It brands most British Jews as racists. That demands a clear answer from every part of this council.
“This is a joint motion, drawn up and submitted by the Conservative and Labour groups together. Conservative councillors are united behind it, and I look forward to every member of the council being in the chamber next week and voting for it. Westminster’s Jewish community should hear one voice from their council.”
Westminster adopted the IHRA working definition of antisemitism in 2018, on a Conservative motion seconded by the Labour group.
