Israel's Attorney General Rules Against Disqualifying Religious Zionist Party List

Israel's Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has determined that there is insufficient evidence to disqualify the "Religious Zionism-Identity" list from competing in the upcoming 26th Knesset elections. While acknowledging that some statements and actions presented in the disqualification request raise concerns, she concluded that a "critical mass" of evidence proving the list's core objectives are to undermine democratic principles or incite racism was not presented.

The request to ban the list, which includes Knesset members Bezalel Smotrich and Zvi Sukkot, as well as Moshe Feiglin, was based on allegations of denying Israel's existence as a democratic state and inciting racism. However, the Chairman of the Central Elections Committee had already ordered the removal of the personal disqualification requests against Smotrich, Feiglin, and Sukkot due to procedural deficiencies.

In her position submitted to the Central Elections Committee, the Attorney General stated that the evidentiary basis provided does not meet the high threshold required for disqualifying a political list. She emphasized that such disqualification is an exceptional measure, only applicable in "clear and extreme cases" with "clear, unambiguous, and convincing" evidence. Doubts regarding the evidence weigh against disqualification.

The Attorney General also noted that some of the evidence presented was based on old statements, diminishing its weight in proving current central tenets of the list's platform. Furthermore, the request lacked specific evidence against the list as a whole, focusing primarily on individual members. While acknowledging that denying the right to vote or be elected based on national-ethnic origin could challenge a state's democratic character, the evidence presented on this point was deemed "meager."