Tomorrow I will be in synagogue(犹太会堂) to say Kaddish(卡迪什（犹太悼念祈祷）), the traditional mourner’s prayer, in memory of my father who died eight years ago this week. If I were a member of the Green party, I would have reason to believe that that simple act could soon see me expelled as a racist(使我被当作种族主义者开除).
明天我会去犹太会堂诵念卡迪什——传统的悼念祈祷，以纪念八年前本周去世的父亲。假如我是绿党党员，我完全有理由相信，这个简单的举动很快就会被当作种族主义者，把我开除出党。
It sounds hyperbolic(夸张的), but the warning comes from Green party activists opposed to a resolution(决议) declaring that Zionism(锡安主义（犹太复国主义）) is racism, which will be debated at the party conference this weekend. The motion, which if passed would instantly become party policy, holds that(主张、认为) Zionism should be “treated as any other form of racism”. On that logic, given that the Greens do not admit members of self-described racist organisations, they could not tolerate members of self-described Zionist organisations – a category that includes almost every synagogue, or synagogue movement, in Britain and indeed the world.(按此逻辑，既然绿党不接纳自称种族主义组织的成员，它也无法容忍自称锡安主义组织的成员——而这一类别几乎涵盖英国乃至全世界所有犹太会堂或会堂运动。) Which is why saying Kaddish could lead to expulsion(开除、驱逐).
这听起来夸张，但这一警告来自绿党内部的活动人士，他们反对一项宣布锡安主义是种族主义的决议——该决议将在本周末的党代会上辩论。这项动议一旦通过就会立即成为党的政策，它主张锡安主义应“被当作任何其他形式的种族主义来对待”。按此逻辑，既然绿党不接纳自我标榜为种族主义组织的成员，那么它也无法容忍自我标榜为锡安主义组织的成员——而这一类别几乎涵盖英国乃至全世界所有的犹太会堂或会堂运动。这就是为什么诵念卡迪什可能导致被开除。
All this sounds arcane(冷僻的、神秘的), but the Greens are no longer a fringe(边缘的、非主流的) party. They beat Labour in a byelection(补选) in February, one of the events that catalyse(促成、催化)d the eventual removal of Keir Starmer. The Greens’ leader in England and Wales, Zack Polanski, hopes to win Starmer’s former seat of Holborn and St Pancras in next Thursday’s byelection. But the row over Zionism has cast a cloud over(给……蒙上阴影) his campaign. If he loses the seat, many will conclude that the Green surge(激增、崛起) is over – which would relieve a significant electoral headache for Labour and Andy Burnham. So the stakes are high(赌注很大、事关重大).
这一切听起来像是冷僻的党内事务，但绿党已不再是一个边缘小党。今年二月，他们在一次补选中击败了工党，而这也是最终促使基尔·斯塔默下台的事件之一。绿党在英格兰和威尔士的领袖扎克·波兰斯基，希望在下周四的补选中拿下斯塔默原来的霍尔本和圣潘克拉斯选区。但围绕锡安主义的争议给他的竞选蒙上阴影。如果他输掉这个席位，许多人会认定绿党的崛起已经结束——这会让工党和安迪·伯纳姆松一口气，少了一个重大的选举难题。因此，赌注很高。