We would like to congratulate Zack Polanski, our former Treasurer, on his election as Party Leader. We’re very proud of him and wish him a hearty Mazel Tov. This is an exciting moment for the Green Party, and for the Jewish community as a whole. Many congratulations also go to our Deputy Leaders Rachel Millward and Mothin Ali, and we send our commiserations to the unsuccessful candidates.
And congratulations as well to Dr Joshua Alston, our Policy Officer, on being elected to the Policy Development Committee.
When facing domestic discontent, governments direct anger at minorities and Jews have often been a target for this. In 1290, Edward I employed this tactic, banning our ancestors from Britain through issuing an edict of expulsion. In the modern day our rulers still use Jews, Muslims and other minority groups to diffuse popular anger. We therefore wonder, as Jewish Greens, how our ancestors hounded from these shores seven centuries ago would react to seeing a proud Jew elected leader of a major UK political party. In a difficult time for British Jewish communities, this is a reminder of how far we have come and a foretaste of a better tomorrow.
Our leadership team represents the best of diverse and progressive modern Britain – a hopeful vision of what Britain could be!