Vivien Lichtenstein

Vivien Lichtenstein
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Born	October 1953 Newcastle upon Tyne
Died
Nationality
Residence	Maida Vale, London
Occupation	Financial manager, activist
Known for	Founder and Chair of Jewish Greens
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Vivien Lichtenstein (born October 1953) is a British Green Party activist, long-standing peace and human rights campaigner, and founder/chair of Jewish Greens.

Early life

Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, moved to Manchester at age six and London at twelve; has lived in Maida Vale since 1978. Child of Holocaust survivors.

Education and career

Holds BA Econ Hons from University of Manchester and MSc from London School of Economics. Worked in financial management in industry and charity sector; cared for elderly Holocaust survivor parents.

Activism

Active in Israeli–Palestinian peace/human rights work since 1982 with groups including Jewish-Arab Dialogue (co-chair c.1994) and Jews for Justice for Palestinians. Initiated Jewish Greens in 2018; serves as Chair.

Green Party roles

Joined Green Party (England and Wales) in 1997; co-founded West Central London branch. Former local Chair and Disciplinary Committee Chair; Co-Coordinator of Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee. Parliamentary candidate (Kensington 2019; Queen's Park and Maida Vale 2024).

Views on Zionism and antisemitism

Lichtenstein has explicitly stated she is not an anti-Zionist.

“I’m assured that anti Zionism, not that I’m an anti Zionist, is a political belief which is protected under the Equalities Act 2010, so you can’t actually stop somebody from expressing their belief.

“Whether there are some anti Zionists who are undoubtedly anti Semites, but does anti Zionism actually lead to antisemitism? I’m not entirely sure.

“So it’s a very tricky question, because it also depends on the individual involved.

“It depends on what their view of Zionism is. And I imagine that if you ask loads of different people, you’re going to get loads of different answers, what they think Zionism actually means. So it depends on the individual.”

As founder and chair of Jewish Greens, she has affirmed the group welcomes Zionists and does not take a single position on Israel–Palestine. She stated the Green Party (England and Wales) is a welcoming space for Zionists.

when asked whether the Green Party was a welcoming space for Zionists, despite the stance of its new leader, Lichtenstein responded with a firm “yes”... “There are definitely going to be some people who aren’t happy with the Green Party’s position on Israel, and some who are very happy,” she said. “Jewish Greens,” she added, “does not offer a single position on topics such as Israel-Palestine.” “It’s paramount that Jewish Greens is a space for all, regardless of the deeply held divisions in society and our community on these issues.”

Jewish Greens urged members to vote against the 2026 Green Party motion "Zionism is Racism", arguing it would make Jews feel unwelcome and risk disciplinary action against them.

She has worked on Green Party antisemitism guidance (2020–2021) and co-signed joint statements opposing antisemitism and Islamophobia.

In 2019 she blamed Labour Party antisemitism on poor leadership.

She said: “It’s mind-boggling that anti-semitism has been allowed to fester in the Labour Party and that they haven’t been able to deal with it. “There’s a lot of excuses from people within the Labour Party but it just comes down to three years of bad leadership. “It’s baffling that the different factions of the party, those that think anti-semitism is a problem and those that don’t, haven’t been able to sit down and hash the situation out.”

In the same report Lichtenstein went on to say:

Speaking more broadly about her experiences with anti-semitism, Ms Lichtenstein said that she’s been fortunate enough not to experience it herself in politics. However she suffered discrimination as a child, saying it was an on-going problem at school, and recalled being verbally abused in the street when running a multi-faith event. She added: “It’s not up to Jews to be responsible for confronting anti-semitism. “It’s up to the communities where it’s coming from. Just as if there’s any racism in our Jewish communities, then it is our responsibility to deal with that. “We can tell them what’s anti-semitic and what isn’t but they should be dealing with it.”

Naturally, Lichtenstein doesn't include Zionism as a form of racism within the Jewish community.