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Jewish Greens at Autumn conference September 2024
Jewish Greens completed out busiest conference.
In addition to our normal members meeting and Saturday night meal we held two speaker events. The first featuring Jewish Greens policy Officer Joshua Alston speaking on a panel about how to address fascism. There he drew lessons from his research area into the rise all fall of apartheid in South Africa. He talked about the importance of drawing together a broad coalition, working together on the ground in communities and not expecting the electoral commission or another large public body to come and save us.
The following day we held a joint event with Muslim Greens featuring Eco Synagogues Susan Fox from Eco Synagogue and Kamran Shezard Director of the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environment and Bahu Trust. We talked about the importance of faith as a mobilising factor in action and the importance of the Jewish tradition of stewardship.
Conference finished voting though a new policy on legal language the party should be using to describe Israel. Jewish Green members voted either side on the motion.
Interestingly, the sky news report on the conference decided to feature almost exclusively Green party members: https://news.sky.com/video/how-worried-should-labour-be-about-the-green-party-13211671
Joint session on faith and the environment with Muslim Greens.
Joint session on tackling the rise of the far right with Jewish Greens Policy Officer Joshua Alston, External communications Green party executive member Molly Scott Cato, Mothin Ali Councillor for Gipton and Harehills ward, Tom Scott Campaigns Coordinator for the Green Party of England and Wales.
21 March, 2024
The current crisis in Gaza – discussion |
Jewish Greens held an off-the-record conversation between Daniel Levy, of the US Middle East Project (USMEP), and Carne Ross, the Green Party’s spokesperson on Global Solidarity. They discussed the current crisis in Gaza and more broadly between Israel and the Palestinians.
Daniel is a renowned expert on the Israel/Palestine issue. He served in the IDF, was an adviser to former Israeli Justice Minister Yossi Beilin, and advised the Israeli government during the Taba and Oslo 2 peace negotiations. Later, he founded the US advocacy group, J Street, whose aim is to promote American leadership to end the Arab-Israeli and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts peacefully and diplomatically.
Today, he is a noted critic of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories and Israeli political leaders’ pursuit of a Jewish ethnocratic state. He was the founding editor of the Middle East channel in Foreign Policy, and his opinions are widely published, from Ha’aretz to the New York Times; he is also frequently interviewed in a wide range of media outlets, from Al Jazeera to the BBC and CNN.
Sunday 14th January 2024
Holocaust Memorial Day event |
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We held the our first event for Holocaust Memorial Day with a range of Green Party Special Interest Groups. We heard from Generation to Generation speaker Melanie telling the story of her mother Tootje (Cato) Granaat, a holocaust survivor from the Netherlands, and her family. We heard about the effect of rising authoritarianism marring their youth and the devastating impact of transportation but also their survival and escape. The event was ably chaired by Benali Hamdache* and we were joined by 37 people. If you missed the event you can find out more at: https://www.generation2generation.org.uk/holocaust-survivor-tootje-granaat/#story |
* Green Party Migration and Refugee Support spokesperson, and Islington Councillor.
Holocaust Memorial Day is an event to remember genocides throughout history and around the world, and work to ensure they never happen again. Sadly, we know looking around our world that acts of genocide are not a thing of the past, far less racism, prejudice and intolerance. Part of these memorialisation events is about hearing the stories of survivors, how societies become disfigured to the extent that they carry out the most appalling crimes. It is also hearing how people survived and families endured. This is important for all groups that wish to shape society and exert political power, including the Green Party.
This is event was supported by Green Party special interest groups (liberation groups) and other groups including LGBTIQA+ Greens, Green Party Trade Union Group, GRT (Gypsy, Roma, Traveller) Policy Working Group, Green Party Women, and Feminist Greens.
Members meeting 10th September 2023, Autumn Conference, and AGM 29th October 2023
While the Jewish religion can trace itself back 3,000 years, on the 6-8th October 2023 the Green Party gathered for its Conference and marked its 50th anniversary. More details of our recent pre-conference members meeting, our activities at conference, and our AGM will be available here soon.
August 2023 The Gypsy Roma & Traveller community and the Green Party
Under this government we have seen increasing data evidencing the discrimination and disadvantage experienced by the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) communities and a raft of legislation exasperating it. The Green Party GRT working group has been working on a better way. This event featuring speakers from René Cassin and the Traveller Movement chaired by Ria Patel, examined the new policy on GRT rights proposed by the Green Party lead on this, Virgil Bitu, a Roma activist, and which is being brought to Conference in October. What more can the Green party do to support the community?
The joint event with the GRT working group, Jewish Greens, Greens of Colour, and Young Greens took place on 14th August 2023
August 2023 A point of no return? The British Jewish communities changing relationship with Israel.
The massive protests in Israel and Palestine over the last year have provoked unprecedented reactions in the British Jewish community. To help us understand these transformations Jewish Greens were joined by Danielle Bett director of communications at Yachad who promote change in the UK Jewish communities stance on Israel-Palestine.
Held on 3rd August 2023
January 2023 – Tu Bishvat Seder at West London Reform Synagogue
Jewish Greens attended West London Reform Synagogue where Zack Polanski, Green Party Deputy Leader and London Assembly Member, spoke with Rabbi Helen Freeman about the connection between his environmentalism and his Jewish faith.
Dec 2022 – Supporting the Uyghur and Tibetan peoples
The event was chaired by Green member of the House of Lords, Natalie Bennett, in conversation with Maria Aisaeva, Chair of UK Uyghur Community, and Tenzin Kunga, Advocacy Officer at Free Tibet. Representing communities under attack from the government of the CCP. We were also joined by Rosie Rawle a researcher at QMUL to talk about how procurement policy can be a tool to change this situation.
Maria and Tenzin described the horrific conditions their peoples were forced to live under, the despicable actions of the CCP in China, and suggested ways to get involved.
October 2022
We were joined at our AGM by keynote speaker Talia Chain from https://sadehfarm.co.uk/. Sadeh is the only Jewish farm in Europe, providing environmental education to the Jewish community and beyond.
Autumn Conference 2022
We held a social with apples and honey to celebrate Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year which was a few days before) and discussed the future and past of the group. It was exciting to see new faces. We also ran a stall, a buddy scheme, a proxy voting scheme, distributed badges and were a team at the quiz organised by the local region. (we did not win)
Aug 2022 – Hustings
Jewish Greens worked with Greens of Colour to hold hustings for both the Deputy Leader and Green Party Executive Chair candidates. These took place in the days after voting opened and we were very pleased to have 30 members in attendance at both events. Notably the successful GPEx Chair candidate committed to reform of the complaints system and the winning Deputy Leader candidate committed to consulting with Liberation groups.
Nov 2021 Eco-Shabbat
David Zell and Zack attended dinner at Moishe House. As world leaders gathered in COP, we had a much more enjoyable and successful event with far less coal lobbyists at Moishe House, and with René Cassin. The event demonstrated how closely we as Greens share the linked values of social and environmental justice – in the overall context of our Judaism. We were particularly impressed by the thoughtful comments and questions that came from the other guests and hosts during our discussion.
September 2021 A guide to the Jewish Community
We were very pleased to hold an event with the Association of Green Councillors featuring six speakers from across the Jewish community including: the association of small communities, René Cassin and the Union of Jewish Students. Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue pulled out at the last moment due to sickness. The event was chaired by Elise Benjamin and elicited a large number of questions.
Autumn Conference 2021
We held a well attended social that featured detailed discussion and considerable argument around food.
The Guidance on Antisemitism was adopted at this Conference, and is now included in the party’s Framework on Ethics and Conduct.
Feb 2021 – United We Stand – tackling antisemitism, Islamophobia & transphobia!
A joint event with Greens of Colour and LGBTIQA+ Greens at United We Stand: how we tackle transphobia, Islamophobia and antisemitism, co-hosted with Young Greens.
Conference event with Greens of Colour Feb 2021 – Discrimination against Gypsies Roma Travellers (GRT) and the criminalisation bill, a joint event by Greens of Colour and Jewish Greens
With Luke Wenman of Friends, Families and Travellers; Lois Brookes-Jones, a poet and member of the GRT Women’s Empowerment Network; Veronica Petrescu Intersectional Activist, Roma & Queer; Virgil Bitu leader of the GR8 Political Movement; Terezia Rostas Roma activist for education rights and all-inclusive education; and Cleo Lake, former Green Lord Mayor of Bristol. Chaired by Elise Benjamin, who was the first Green Lord Mayor of Oxford.
The Commission for Racial Equality described discrimination against Gypsy Roma Travellers (GRT), as the ‘last acceptable form of racism’. The GRT community faces extensive overt discrimination contributing to a life expectancy approximately a decade below the national average. The government have contributed to this problem with senior ministers often engaging in explicit attacks on travellers. New Conservative plans to criminalise trespass are explicitly targeted at traveller communities, part of an escalating campaign against the GRT community, building on a legacy of discrimination. This is not merely a national policy failure but also builds on decades of inadequate provision by local councils.
Green Liberation groups came together to highlight this issue, to look at how Greens can show solidarity and provide support at council level.
Together with Gypsy, Roma and Travellers November 2021
A joint session by Young Greens and Jewish Greens with Chelsea McDonagh, The Traveller Movement’s Education Policy and Campaigns Officer, introduced by West Central London Green Party Co-Chair and London Assembly candidate, Zack Polanski. This event was co-hosted by Young Greens
Gyspy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) communities maintain distinct traditions and identities which are often poorly understood by the wider society, and their distinct needs are not taken into account by policy makers. The current government is using centuries of prejudice and decades of underfunding and privatisation of services to launch an attack on Traveller rights. GRT communities have been particularly affected by the Covid-19 crisis and Brexit.
“Judaism and the Campaign against Climate Change” with Rabbi Jeffrey Newman from Shema, Rabbi Johnathan Wittenberg, Senior Rabbi of Masorti Judaism from Eco- Synagogue, and Shulamit Morris-Evans from Extinction Rebellion Jews (and a Jewish Greens member). This event explored Jewish tradition, environmental activism and the many ways to get involved.
