Israeli committee bars Arab parties from election
The court is weighing whether to uphold bans that could leave more than 1.25 million Arab voters without major representation, officials said.
- On September 23, Israel's Central Elections Committee voted to disqualify the Ra'am party and the Joint List from the October 27 election, while separately barring Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh and lawmaker Ofer Cassif from running.
- Petitions invoked Section 7A of Basic Law: The Knesset, which permits barring candidates who reject Israel as a 'Jewish and democratic state,' incite racism, or support armed struggle against Israel by terrorist organizations.
- Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg departed from customary neutrality to vote for Abu Shehadeh's disqualification, citing an October 8, 2023, article where he described the Hamas attack as an 'important historic event.'
- These disqualifications await mandatory Supreme Court approval, though the court has historically overturned committee bans under Section 7A, including Balad's 2022 exclusion, maintaining a high evidentiary threshold.
- Observers warn the legal battle could deter Arab citizens, who comprise about a fifth of Israel's population, from voting in the October 27 election amid concerns that exclusionary rhetoric may fuel intimidation.
134 Articles
134 Articles
Israel’s Central Election Commission has banned all major Arab parties from participating in the October 27 parliamentary elections. If the Supreme Court does not overturn the decision, Israel’s Arab citizens, who make up about a fifth of the population, will be left without their main political representatives in the Knesset. The ban applies to Ra’am, the United Arab List, as well as the Joint List, a coalition of Hadash, Ta’al and Balad. The c…
THE ISRAELI ELECTION COMMISSION has banned all major Arab parties from running in the October 27 elections. The decision, which affects a fifth of the population, is not final as it is awaiting a ruling from the Supreme Court.
Dnevni list Danas
AktuelnoIsrael's effort to ban Arab parties from participating in the upcoming elections has been characterized as "another nail in the coffin of democracy." Is there a valid reason for this and what could it all mean?
The Central Electoral Commission vetoed the candidacy of the Jadash-Taal alliance and the Raam party, to an extent criticized as racist and arbitrary.
Balad chief Barred over alleged support for terror
By Ariela Karmel September 23, 2026 Sohlberg, attorney general, all opposition parties back disqualification of Joint List party’s No. 3 in unusual consensus; panel also disqualifies Hadash MK Ofer Cassif Balad chair Sami Abou Shahdeh appears on a screen behind the Central Elections Committee during a disqualification hearing at the Knesset in Jerusalem, September 23, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90) The Central Elections Committee voted 30-4 Wedn…
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