Jo Bird
Jo Bird is a British Green Party politician and councillor for Bromborough on Wirral Council. She is Treasurer of Jewish Greens and a former member of the Labour Party, from which she was expelled in 2021.[1]
Views on antisemitism
Bird, who is Jewish, has criticised the handling of antisemitism complaints in the Labour Party. She joked that antisemitism complaints should be labelled the “Jew process” rather than “due process”, describing it as a self-deprecating play on words highlighting a perceived hierarchy of racism.[2] She has stated that accusations of antisemitism should not be taken at face value and that the Greens handle such claims with evidence-based decisions rather than immediate suspension.[2]
Views on Palestine and genocide
Bird strongly supports Palestinian rights and has condemned Israeli government actions in Gaza as “attempted genocide”. She has called for human rights in Palestine-Israel and criticised the Israeli government without reservation for its treatment of Palestinians.[3]
Views on Zionism
Bird is widely described as an anti-Zionist and was a leading member of the anti-Zionist Jewish Voice for Labour. She has not made a direct personal claim to the label in public statements located, but consistently aligns with anti-Zionist positions while rejecting blanket equations of Zionism with racism.[4]
Position on the Green Party “Zionism is Racism” motion
Bird opposed motion A105 (“Zionism is Racism”) at the Green Party Spring Conference 2026. As Treasurer of Jewish Greens she supported the group’s call to vote against it. She personally spoke against prioritising the motion for debate, arguing it should be deferred for mediation and a unifying alternative in the autumn. According to Jim Denham of the Shiraz Socialist (Second Run) blog[5]:
- The speech against pushing the “Zionism is racism” up the agenda came not from “hardline Zionists now turning their attention to the Green Party in the way they previously did to the Labour Party when Corbyn was leader” (as the article above claims) but from councillor Jo Bird, a one-time Corbynite Labour councillor in the Wirral and a former leading member of the anti-Zionist Jewish Voice for Labour (now Jewish Voice for Resistance). Her speech said the motion should not be discussed so that mediation and further consideration could take place and a new unifying motion be put forward in the autumn.[4]
According to the Zionist aligned Alliance for Workers' Liberty:
- The speech against pushing ZiR up the agenda came from councillor Jo Bird, a one-time Corbynite Labour councillor in the Wirral and a former leading member of Jewish Voice for Labour. Her speech said the motion should not be discussed so that mediation and further consideration could take place and a new unifying motion be put forward in the autumn. That may well have had tacit leadership support. Other committed “anti-Zionist” GPEW members have also urged caution. The Jewish Greens called to vote against.[6]
This contributed to procedural delays that prevented a vote.[7]
Notes
- ↑ The Jewish Chronicle, London, "Councillor who joked about 'Jew process' gave Green Party antisemitism training", 26 November 2024, https://www.thejc.com/news/politics/councillor-who-joked-about-jew-process-gave-green-party-antisemitism-training-j6vb6pkt
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Novara Media, London, "Replicating an Antisemitism Crisis in the Greens Is Proving Tougher Than Some Had Hoped", 17 March 2026, https://novaramedia.com/2026/03/17/replicating-an-antisemitism-crisis-in-the-greens-is-proving-tougher-than-some-had-hoped/
- ↑ Jo Bird, personal blog, "Do no harm", 21 May 2025, https://jobird.net/blog/do-no-harm
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Anti-Capitalist Resistance, "Time to re-think Green Party Conference", 31 March 2026, https://anticapitalistresistance.org/time-to-re-think-green-party-conference/
- ↑ https://shirazsocialism.wordpress.com/author/jimcftu/
- ↑ simon Nelson, Ugly farce at spring conference, 31 March 2026.
- ↑ Jewish Greens, "News – Why Jewish Greens are urging party members to vote against THE MOTION: ZIONISM IS RACISM", 12 February 2026, https://jewishgreens.greenparty.org.uk/news/