Israeli Parties Seek to Disqualify Arab and Leftist Knesset Candidates

Ahead of the upcoming 26th Knesset elections, a battle over candidate disqualifications has intensified. The Likud party announced on Tuesday that it will submit requests to the Central Elections Committee to disqualify the Joint List and the Ra'am party from participating in the elections. Likud cited the parties' alleged harm to IDF soldiers and their refusal to designate Hamas and Hezbollah as terror organizations as reasons for the disqualification requests. The party also linked the move to the election campaign and efforts to form an alternative government, stating, "These supporters of terror are the natural partners of Gadi Eisenkot, with whom he wants to form a government together with Yair Golan and [Avigdor] Lieberman. This must not be allowed to happen."

In parallel, MK Oded Forer of the Yisrael Beiteinu party submitted a separate request to disqualify MK Dr. Ofer Cassif. Forer's request, based on section 7a of the Basic Law: The Knesset, focuses on Cassif's alleged continuous support for armed struggle against the State of Israel. The petition details numerous statements and actions attributed to Cassif, including claims that he stated "there is no such thing as terror against soldiers," referred to those harming IDF soldiers as "guerrilla fighters" and "freedom fighters," and asserted that Palestinians have the right to use armed means against the "occupation."

Forer's request also includes Cassif's signature on a petition supporting South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, his calls for IDF soldiers to refuse orders during the war, and his refusal to define Hamas as a terror organization. The petitioners argue these are not isolated incidents but a consistent pattern of behavior. The Ethics Committee of the 25th Knesset has already sanctioned Cassif four times, resulting in a total of ten months of suspension from parliamentary activity, noting a "systematic and consistent pattern of conduct" and repeated violations.

The petition further addresses Cassif's views on Israel's nature, including calls to abolish the Law of Return, opposition to Zionism, and comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany. Forer's legal argument distinguishes the current evidence from that presented in 2019, when the Supreme Court overturned Cassif's initial disqualification. Forer claims the new request includes full interviews, direct social media posts, Knesset speeches, recordings, international actions, and official Knesset institutional decisions, creating the "critical mass" of evidence required for disqualification. "In 2019, the court said the evidence against Cassif was insufficient. Since then, Cassif has not changed his ways, he has only radicalized them," Forer stated. "Today, one can no longer speak of a single statement taken out of context or a few isolated articles. There are years of statements, actions, and institutional decisions that present a clear pattern."