Zack Polanski said a vote for him is a vote ‘for Israel’ as shock comments resurface

When standing for the Liberal Democrats - a party he ditched for the Greens in 2017 - he asked attendees at a hustings in Barnet and Camden for a favour.

Mr Polanski was standing for the Lib Dems in the London Assembly elections and asked members to vote for Caroline Pidgeon, the party leader, to give himself a better chance of election.

This is because one of the 11 additional members would be given seats based on each party's overall vote.

According to The Telegraph, Mr Polanski told attendees: "If you could vote – if you think I’ve said anything vaguely sensible tonight and you’d like to support a Jewish [London] Assembly candidate – if you could vote Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrats, on the orange ballot paper, that would be a support for liberalism and a support for Israel and a support for Judaism."

Zack Polanski previously said a vote for him is a vote 'for Israel' - words that will undoubtedly reverberate with a sense of irony among many following this weekend's controversial motion

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Subsequently, Mr Polanski finished fourth in his region and was not elected as a London-wide member.

The comments may strike a sense of irony, following the Green Party's motion this weekend.

The vote, declaring Zionist ideology as racist, was passed by 1,022 votes to 813 and adopted without substantive amendment.

It defines Zionism as an "ethnonationalist political project" and states opposition to Zionism, the belief in Jewish self-determination and statehood, should not be equated with antisemitism.

A Green Party spokesman said the debate had been "serious and deeply felt" and members had exercised their right to determine party policy.

While he did not vote, Mr Polanski and his party have been widely condemned.

A No10 spokesman said it was a "shameful vote against a two-state solution".

Unsurprisingly, Israel also slammed the decision, accusing the party of giving "legitimacy to terrorism" and calling on other political parties to denounce the party.

The country's foreign minister confirmed Mr Polanski has been barred from entering Israel altogether, describing the motion as "shocking".

"The Greens have adopted not only the green of Hamas, but also its ideology: the elimination of the State of Israel through armed struggle," an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman said.

"The shocking resolution adopted today legitimises armed struggle, calls for a Palestinian state 'from the river to the sea' – meaning the destruction of the State of Israel – and labels as 'racist' the aspiration of the Jewish people for self-determination.

"This goes far beyond the boundaries of legitimate political debate. As long as this resolution remains in place, it will stand as a stain on the history of the United Kingdom.

Israel's foreign minister confirmed Mr Polanski has been barred from entering Israel altogether, describing the motion as 'shocking'

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"Every political party in Britain, first and foremost the governing Labour Party, must unequivocally reject this twisted resolution."

On Monday afternoon, Mike Tapp and eight other Labour MPs wrote to Sussex Police demanding an investigation into "potential antisemitic offences" being committed by the Greens at their Party Conference.

Mr Tapp, along with Mark Sewell, Luke Akehurst, Jess Asato, Jon Pearce, David Taylor, Rachel Blake, Sharon Hodgson, and Claire Hazelgrove, have also written to the EHRC over "potential breaches of the Equality Act".

"We believe the combination of the adopted policy categorising Zionism as racism, the reported rejection of protections for members affiliated with synagogues and Jewish organisations, and the reported exclusionary chanting provides substantial grounds for police scrutiny," the letter reads.

The MPs are requesting a "thorough assessment of these events and appropriate action where the evidence establishes an offence."