Climate Cafe duo caught up in conference protest

MEMBERS of Wellington Climate Cafe were among hundreds caught up in hostile protests as they tried to enter the Green Party Autumn Conference in Brighton.

Pro-Israeli demonstrators hurled abuse at delegates in protest against a conference motion that equated Zionism with racism and called for Israel to be replaced by a single Palestinian state with “equal rights for all”.

Wellington’s Stephen Tate and his daughter Penny from Bridport, were subjected to hate speech as they waited to pass through an airport-style security check to enter the conference venue.

Mr Tate said: “We were at the mercy of the mob because of the delays caused by the extra security checks. We were forced to queue in a narrow area just over a metre wide between the venue and metal barriers set up on the pavement.

“An angry mob stood right behind the barriers taunting us with offensive insults and deafening music. I was concerned for my daughter's safety. It was so aggressive. The crazy part was this was first time we had heard anything about the motion. When I tried to ask a protester for more information, he swore in my face.”

Penny Tate, who was attending her first Green Party conference, said it was upsetting to be called a racist by protesters.

“At first it seemed absurd, then it became intimidating. The whole experience felt at odds with what the Green Party stands for and deeply harmful to both sides of the argument,” she said.

Once inside, Mr Tate raised his concerns with a senior Green Party member in charge of managing the entrance to the venue.

“By the time we left the venue for another event about an hour later, the situation had been diffused. But we had seen enough not to want come back for the vote on Sunday,” added Mr Tate.

The motion was passed on Sunday by 1022 votes to 813.

Current Green Party leader, Zack Polanski, did not take part in Sunday's vote having left after his speech to conference on Saturday. The Israeli foreign ministry banned Mr Polanski, who is Jewish, from entering Israel following the vote.

The motion overshadowed one of the most significant and far-reaching policies to be discussed at this year's conference, the Nature Rights Bill.

The early-day motion would give nature the same rights under British Law as people and large corporations. Currently, rivers, forests and ecosystems are treated in law as property, as objects to be owned, exploited and too often destroyed, according to lawyer and author of the Bill, Mumta Ito.

She said: “People and profit cannot exist without nature so nature needs to become a legal subject with the same rights and duty of care as people and corporations.”

This month's Wellington Climate Cafe on Thursday, October 8 will be making hawthorn vinegar and a model wind turbine.

There will also be an opportunity to try our first batch of climate kombucha made at September's Climate Cafe. We meet at Wellington Meeting House, High Street from 7 pm to 9 pm.

For more information, contact [email protected]