Backed it
Green Party councillor
Cllr Shabir Fazal
Central ward, Hyndburn, Lancashire
Backed the racist motion that declares Zionism is racism.
Do they still stand by it?
Email Cllr FazalWhy it's wrong
- Printed as
- Mohammed Shabir Fazal
- Named in
- Both printed lists of supporters: spring 2026 (A105), and autumn 2026 (E02), the version that passed
- Council
- Their council profile
What they put their name to
Councillor Shabir Fazal put their name to the motion "Zionism is Racism" as a supporter, in both of its printed lists of supporters, the spring 2026 version (A105) and the autumn 2026 version (E02). The motion, passed on 4 October 2026, declares that the belief held by most British Jews is racism and binds the party to treat it "as any other form of racism".
Zionism is not racism. It is the belief that Jews have a right to a homeland in their ancestral land, held by around nine in ten British Jews. UK law recognises Jewish people as an ethnic group protected by the Equality Act 2010. An elected councillor who signs up to calling that belief racism has made a statement about the Jewish residents of Central, Hyndburn, and they deserve a reply.
In the motion's own words
What Shabir Fazal put their name to
Every passage below is quoted word for word from the motion as published by its proposers. The page number opens that page of the PDF. Open "What this means" under any passage for its effect in practice.
“an apartheid regime between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, designed to cement the supremacy of one group, Jews, over another, Palestinians. As such, Zionism is racist.”
What this means
It defines Zionism as apartheid and supremacy, so anyone who believes Jewish people have a right to a state of their own is, by the party's own definition, a racist. Most British Jews hold that belief. The motion does not argue with them; it labels them.
“The Green Party declares itself to be an anti-Zionist party.”
What this means
A party commits itself, as policy, to opposing the national movement of one people only. No other people's right to a state is opposed by Green Party policy. That is the singling out that the Equality Act's protection of Jews as an ethnic group exists to prevent.
“Zionism, as defined above, will be treated as any other form of racism, and this motion will be implemented by the Anti-Racism Policy Working Group as appropriate and in accordance with its ordinary practice.”
What this means
This is the enforcement clause. The party's anti-racism and disciplinary machinery now applies to Zionism, so a member, a councillor or a candidate who says Jewish people have a right to a homeland can be dealt with as a racist. It is the line that drove the first councillors out within days.
“With this we reject the adoption or use in frameworks of the non-legally binding IHRA and JDA definitions of antisemitism (or alike), which have been weaponised to silence legitimate criticisms of the actions of the state of Israel.”
What this means
The IHRA definition is the one adopted by the UK government, the Crown Prosecution Service, the police, many councils and universities, and the representative bodies of the Jewish community. The JDA was written by scholars as a more cautious alternative. Rejecting both, as "weaponised", leaves the party refusing every accepted description of antisemitism except its own.
“the Green Party supports the establishment of a single democratic Palestinian State in all of historic Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital”
What this means
"All of historic Palestine" includes every part of Israel. This is a call for the only Jewish-majority state in the world to cease to exist, not for two states side by side, which has been the policy of the UK government and of every major UK party for decades.
“The right of peoples’ under colonial domination, alien subjugation, apartheid and racist regimes to resist, including through armed struggle, is affirmed in multiple UN instruments”
What this means
The briefing spells out that "all available means" includes armed struggle, and its final reference is an article making the case for Hamas. This is a party whose philosophical basis commits it to non-violence.
“The Green Party calls for the removal of Palestine Action from the list of proscribed organisations in Schedule 2 to the Terrorism Act 2000 (i.e. de-proscription).”
What this means
Palestine Action was proscribed by Parliament in July 2025 after its members broke into RAF Brize Norton and damaged military aircraft. The motion asks the party to campaign for a proscribed organisation to be taken off the terrorism list.
You can't be anti-racist and antisemitic.
Zionism is anti-racism.
Is Zionism racism? No.
Why the motion is wrong
It calls most British Jews racists
Zionism is the belief that the Jewish people have the right to self-determination in a homeland of their own. Around nine in ten British Jews hold it. The motion declares that belief racism, and says it "will be treated as any other form of racism".
It sets one rule for Jews and another for everyone else
The French, the Irish and the Palestinians all claim the same right to a homeland, and nobody calls them racist for it. Denying that right to Jews alone singles out one people. You can't be anti-racist and antisemitic.
It takes away the words Jews use to name antisemitism
The motion rejects both the IHRA definition of antisemitism and the Jerusalem Declaration as "weaponised". That leaves Jewish members with no agreed definition of the racism aimed at them.
It commits the party to campaign against Jewish identity
The motion commits the Green Party to "oppose and campaign against" Zionism. In practice that is a campaign against the belief of most Jewish people in this country, including the ones these councillors were elected to serve.
It breaks the Green Party's own rules
The party's core values and its binding Members' Code of Conduct prohibit racism and discrimination. Its Anti-Bullying and Harassment Policy prohibits discrimination on race, ethnicity, and faith or belief.
It runs into the law
Jewish people are an ethnic group protected by the Equality Act 2010. In 2020 the Equality and Human Rights Commission found the Labour Party responsible for unlawful harassment and discrimination against Jewish members. On 7 October 2026 the Green Party was referred to the Commission over this motion.
The world has already rejected it
The United Nations General Assembly declared Zionism a form of racism in 1975, in Resolution 3379. In 1991 it revoked that resolution, in Resolution 46/86. The Green Party has revived a line the UN itself abandoned.
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Email Cllr Fazal
A ready-written email asking Cllr Shabir Fazal to withdraw their name and call for the motion to be reversed, or to say plainly that they stand by it. It goes to their council address, with Zack Polanski, the Green Party leader copied in. You see every word first and can change anything.
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Questions and answers
Did Cllr Shabir Fazal back the "Zionism is Racism" motion?
Yes. Cllr Shabir Fazal, Green Party councillor for Central ward, Hyndburn, is named in both printed lists of supporters, the spring 2026 version (A105) and the autumn 2026 version (E02) that passed of the Green Party's "Zionism is Racism" motion, passed on 4 October 2026. There is no public record of them withdrawing their support.
What does the motion say?
It declares the Green Party an anti-Zionist party, says Zionism "will be treated as any other form of racism", rejects the IHRA and Jerusalem Declaration definitions of antisemitism as "weaponised", and commits the party to "oppose and campaign against" Zionism.
How do I email Cllr Shabir Fazal?
Use the email form on this page. It opens a ready-written email to their council address in your own email app, asking them to withdraw their name or say plainly that they stand by it. You can change every word before you send it.
Other Green councillors in the North West who backed it
Keep going
The other councillors who backed it Every Green councillor, by council Ask your own MP and councillors Read the motion, line by line The accountability register
Every name on this site is printed in a list of supporters published with the motion, and matched to a sitting Green councillor by name and council. A councillor who has signed the pledge or left the party since is shown as such. Nothing else is claimed about anyone. Every detail and photograph was taken from public websites, chiefly each council's own councillor page. Spotted a mistake? Email hello@zionismisracism.co.uk.