U.S. Greens Debate Motion to Label Israeli Military a Terrorist Organization

The National Committee of the Green Party of the United States is debating a motion to declare the Israeli Defense Forces a terrorist organization, citing its treatment of Palestinian and neighboring populations. A vote is scheduled for early November.

The party’s Steering Committee introduced the proposal this month, and internal discussion is open through November 2. A ballot on the measure is to follow immediately and close on November 9. The party’s bylaws require a two-thirds participating quorum of the National Committee for the voting session, with adoption needing a simple majority.

The measure alleges that the IDF has engaged in “systematic use of state terror” against Palestinian and neighboring populations through military occupation, collective punishment, and violations of international law since its founding. It references events such as the 1948 Deir Yassin massacre and later conflicts in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon as examples of what the Steering Committee describes as an ongoing pattern of war crimes and crimes against humanity, citing reports from the United Nations, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

If adopted, the motion would commit the Green Party to formally designating the IDF a terrorist organization and supporting international prosecution of IDF officers accused of war crimes and ethnic cleansing. It also calls for an immediate end to U.S. military aid to Israel under the Leahy Law, a federal statute that prohibits assistance to foreign security forces credibly accused of human-rights abuses.

The motion directs the party to publish the declaration on its website, circulate it to Green candidates and allied Green organizations globally, and coordinate follow-up solidarity campaigns through its International Committee.

A similar motion was adopted earlier this month by the Green Party of England and Wales, which voted on October 5 to call the Israeli Defense Forces a terrorist organization and urge the British government to support an international legal case against Israel at the International Criminal Court. The U.S. party’s Steering Committee referenced that UK motion in introducing its own proposal.