A Facebook post by Noah Zatzman exposed the Green Party’s collapse, but the rot—rooted in silencing Palestine solidarity—started years earlier.
In a Facebook post that vowed to “defeat” MPs critical of Israel and replace them with “progressive Zionists,” Noah Zatzman ignited a political crisis that splintered the Green Party of Canada. But the rot didn’t start with a Facebook post. It started years earlier—with a quiet but decisive war against Palestine solidarity inside the Greens, culminating in a leadership collapse that still shapes Canadian politics today.
In 2016, Green Party members made history by passing a resolution endorsing aspects of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. It was the first time a federal party with seats in Parliament had taken such a position. As Yves Engler and others documented, the motion was moderate, calling for targeted sanctions against Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory.
The backlash from Zionist organizations like the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and B’nai Brith Canada was immediate. Elizabeth May, then party leader, publicly distanced herself from the policy, threatened to resign, and ultimately organized a costly special convention to reverse the decision.
Under pressure, party elites gutted the resolution by the end of the year. The message was clear: Palestine solidarity—even mild, legalistic forms—would not be tolerated within the Green Party leadership. It was the first serious warning that the party’s commitment to human rights had sharp, unspoken limits.
Fast forward to 2020. The Greens were electing a new leader for the first time in over a decade. Climate collapse was accelerating. Voter trust in the major parties was cratering. And for a moment, it looked like the Greens might finally break left.
Dimitri Lascaris, a human rights lawyer and longtime advocate for Palestinian liberation, eco-socialism, and anti-imperialism, launched a leadership campaign rooted in principle. He openly supported BDS. He condemned Israeli apartheid. He called for dismantling Canadian complicity with colonialism at home and abroad. Lascaris wasn’t a fringe candidate—he finished second, winning 45% of the final vote.
But the fix was in from the beginning. Corporate media framed Lascaris as “divisive” and “radical.” Party insiders leaned heavily on anti-Palestinian tropes. According to Engler, Elizabeth May and establishment figures quietly rallied around Annamie Paul, whose technocratic platform and silence on foreign policy posed no threat to pro-Israel networks.
Paul had little history with the Greens before her campaign. Her political experience came largely from the Liberal Party–aligned NGO world. After winning leadership with a narrow margin, she quickly surrounded herself with advisors connected to establishment Liberal politics and Zionist advocacy—including Noah Zatzman.
In May 2021, Israel launched a brutal assault on Gaza, killing over 250 Palestinians, including 66 children, according to the UN. Green MPs Jenica Atwin and Paul Manly broke from the party’s weak official statement and condemned Israeli airstrikes directly.
Atwin tweeted: “I stand with Palestine. End Apartheid.” Manly compared the Sheikh Jarrah expulsions to ethnic cleansing. Zatzman responded with his now-infamous Facebook post.
He accused MPs and other political figures, including NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and former leadership candidate Dimitri Lascaris, of antisemitism. He vowed to replace them with Zionist “progressive” candidates. Annamie Paul refused to distance herself from Zatzman’s attacks.
The fallout was swift. Jenica Atwin crossed the floor to the Liberal Party, citing the hostile environment. Green Party staff resigned. Donations collapsed. A non-confidence vote was triggered against Paul. The party’s electoral credibility was gutted heading into the 2021 election, where it won just two seats nationwide.
Meanwhile, media coverage largely framed the crisis as an issue of identity politics—a Black Jewish woman facing “discrimination” from a reactionary base. This narrative erased the real conflict: the systematic suppression of Palestine solidarity inside the party. An internal ombuds committee found Zatzman’s statements were “inappropriate and damaging,” but the report was later withdrawn under technicalities. There would be no accountability.
Today, the Green Party of Canada is a hollow shell of what it claimed to be. Leadership turnover has accelerated. Membership has cratered. Palestine has been effectively erased from official discourse. The lesson couldn’t be clearer. If a political movement isn’t willing to defend Palestine solidarity—if it crumbles the moment accusations of antisemitism are weaponized—it will never stand against settler colonialism, imperialism, or climate collapse. It will be absorbed. Neutralized. Broken.
The Greens didn’t just lose an election. They lost their soul. As Yves Engler argues, there may still be a small opening to reclaim the party—but only if eco-socialist, anti-imperialist forces confront the rot directly, instead of pretending it was just a series of unfortunate miscommunications. If not, it’s time to leave the Green Party behind—and build something better. Because Palestine is not a side issue. It is the line that divides liberation from liberalism. Justice from opportunism. The future from the graveyard of Canadian politics.
Spark Solidarity 