Israel moves to bar both main Arab lists from October election
Summary
Israel’s Central Elections Committee voted to ban two main Arab political lists, the United Arab List (Ra’am) and the Joint List, from the upcoming October 27 election. These decisions are not final and will be reviewed by Israel’s Supreme Court, with legal challenges expected from the banned parties.Key Facts
- The committee banned the United Arab List (Ra’am) led by Mansour Abbas and the Joint List, an alliance of Arab parties Hadash, Ta’al, and Balad.
- Individual candidates Ofer Cassif (Hadash) and Sami Abu Shehadeh (Balad) were also barred from running.
- The bans are based on allegations under Section 7A of Israel’s Basic Law: The Knesset, which excludes candidates or lists that deny Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, incite racism, or support armed struggle.
- The legal center Adalah represents the banned parties and plans to challenge the committee’s decisions in the Supreme Court.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and far-right Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party supported the disqualification bids.
- Sami Abu Shehadeh’s exclusion is controversial because it partly depends on an article he wrote, which the Attorney General said needs review regarding possible support for armed struggle.
- Ra’am was part of the 2021 coalition government, helping to end Netanyahu’s long time in office.
- The Arab political vote is significant due to representing over 1.25 million Israeli citizens and its potential to influence the government’s stability.
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