The next Young Greens’ co-chairs will be anti-Zionist

The candidates bidding to become co-chairpersons of the Green Party’s youth wing, Young Greens, have unanimously affirmed that ‘Zionism is racism‘, the Canary can reveal, signalling an anti-Zionist stance for the national party.

Each candidate — Cyn Muthoni, Jo Dowbor, Isaac Short, Haydn Osborne-Brookes and Elliot Retzepis — made their position clear at the hustings for co-chair selection at this year’s youth conference.

The question came from an audience member regarding the party’s ongoing debate on the proposal, with one candidate promising to re-run the motion at the Green Party conference in autumn.

Canary reporter, Cameron Baillie, is reporting from the two-day conference, which is underway in Tottenham, north London.

The outcome of the co-chair election will be announced today (Sunday 19 July).

Israel attacks Green party for discussing PROPOSAL to recognise Zionism as racism

Young Greens represent the party’s future

The original proposal was drafted by British-Palestinian Lubna Speitan, amid much smearing. Many pro-Palestine activists allege that this motion was filibustered at the spring conference on 28 March.

The youth membership (under-30s) represents more than 25% of all Green Party members. The recent surge in membership places them at over 55,000 people nationally.

Young Greens is chaired by a co-chair duo, at least one of whom must be non-male-identifying on the principle of gender parity.

If we mobilise, the Green Party will soon be officially anti-Zionist

Defenders of the apartheid entity are working round the clock – with their media friends – to hold back the tide

Be part of making history https://t.co/1LQU4d999A

— Matt Kennard (@kennardmatt) July 15, 2026

Candidates striving to eradicate Zionism

Cyn Muthoni, who has experienced racism firsthand, spoke on principle about working towards the “eradication of Zionism,” whether as ideology, movement or both. Strategically, Muthoni emphasised the importance of education in bringing more people into the movement against Zionism.

Educational initiatives could include, for example, the historical precedent set by the 1978 UN General Assembly motion which declared Zionism a racist ideology. This context helps voters understand that sentence’s weight within historical anti-racist, anti-apartheid and civil rights movements.

As Muthoni said:

There is lots of work to be done.

She also remarked that there was “too much filibustering” in the March conference online, which the Canary reported exclusively.

Sabotage throttles Green conference as members left heartbroken over “Zionism is Racism” motion

‘Embarrassing’ for country and Green Party

Greens Organise member and Greens for Palestine co-founder, Jo Dowbor, spoke about the party’s reckoning with this motion. Dowbor began:

This question makes me very angry [at the leadership].

***

It’s okay to disagree in a democratic party, but it’s not okay to sabotage the motion.

Dowbor mentioned the need to correct Britain’s historic crimes of partition in 1940s, and Labour’s “embarrassing” moral failing on genocide.

He also agreed that the Green Party’s leadership around suspected filibustering was “embarrassing”, and said:

We need an anti-Zionist party.

The Young Greens’ motion to acknowledge the Zionist genocide in Gaza, which passed in 2024, was led by Dowbor, she told the conference. She also helped to ratify Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) in the organisation. Both positions were then also taken up by the national Green Party.

Zionist Greens label Zack Polanski antisemitic in further leaked WhatsApp Messages

Shared aims and frustration amongst Young Greens

Candidate Isaac Short shared Dowbor’s feelings on the matter.

He also went a step further by committing to exploring an organisational endorsement from Young Greens on the ‘Zionism is racism’ motion to re-run at the Green Party conference later this year. It requires an approach across party processes and policies, he added.

Short advocated that pro-Palestine and anti-war Greens must aim to “outnumber potential Zionists within the party”.

Caroline Lucas states that “there are many different versions of Zionism” which is a classic Zionist propaganda line.

Let’s be clear: Zionism describes the establishment in Palestine of a Jewish supremacist settler state where the indigenous Palestinians have to be a permanent… https://t.co/eMJEwteRbN

— Matt Kennard (@kennardmatt) July 2, 2026

Haydn Osborne-Brookes then proposed all future conferences be held in-person to prevent further attempts to stall the motion.

Elliot Retzepis is a German Green Party activist on a scholarship to the UK. He acknowledged that the German government’s complicity in the “clear genocide” in Gaza is “even worse than the UK”.

Retzepis stated that Greens shouldn’t fear sensibilities around the motion, and that younger people must “be more radical”.

Young Greens must work together to ensure that democratic mechanisms are upheld, so that “no small group of people [can] prevent [the motion] from being discussed again”.

Outgoing Young Green co-chair, Callum Clafferty, told the Canary that the youth often hold national leadership to account and push for bolder, principled policies. His successors clearly show that this can continue.

Featured image via Cameron Baillie/ the Canary

By Cameron Baillie