Petition Seeks to Disqualify Far-Right Candidates from Knesset Election

A coalition of Israeli human rights organizations and former officials has filed a request with the Central Elections Committee to disqualify far-right candidates Bezalel Smotrich, Moshe Feiglin, and Tzvi Sukkot from running in the upcoming 26th Knesset elections. The petition, submitted by the Zulat Institute for Equality and Human Rights, along with former Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, former ministers Yael German and Omar Bar-Lev, Professor Frances Radai, and diplomat Yoram Ben-Zeev, argues that the candidates' actions and statements demonstrate a rejection of Israel's democratic character and systematic incitement to racism.

The request cites numerous statements and actions by the candidates, including Smotrich's remarks about Arab Knesset members being in Israel "by mistake" and his call to outlaw Arab parties, his support for separating Jewish and Arab maternity patients, and his plan to annex Israeli sovereignty while denying full political participation to Palestinians. The petition also references his call to "erase Huwara" and promote the emigration of Palestinians from Gaza.

Regarding Feiglin, the petition outlines a pattern of statements differentiating between Jews and Arabs, including denying voting rights to Arabs, using terms like "sons of masters" and "sons of slaves," and promoting ideas of occupation, expulsion, and settlement in Gaza. For Sukkot, the request details his dismissive comments about the deaths of "almost 100 Gazans" and his denial of Palestinian heritage, alongside his activities in the Yemen field and the destruction of an anti-Israel monument in the Palestinian village of Madama.

The petitioners emphasized that their challenge is not against right-wing, nationalist, or security stances but against a cumulative pattern of delegitimizing Arab citizens, reducing their political rights, and undermining the principles of equality, rule of law, and democracy. The Zulat Institute stated that the right to be elected is not a license to dismantle democracy from within and that the elections committee must act as a gatekeeper against racism and extremism entering the government.