Israeli Election Committee Disqualifies Arab Candidates and Parties
The Central Elections Committee of the 26th Knesset, chaired by Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, convened on Wednesday to discuss and vote on requests to disqualify candidates and parties running in the upcoming elections. The committee heard arguments throughout Wednesday and Thursday.
During the proceedings, the committee voted to disqualify Ofer Cassif, a Knesset member from the Hadash party, with 19 members supporting the disqualification and 5 opposing. The Likud party had submitted a request to disqualify Cassif. Separately, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, representing the Otzma Yehudit party, submitted a request to disqualify Sami Abu Shehadeh, head of the National Democratic Assembly party. Abu Shehadeh participated in the hearing via Zoom from a hospital, stating, "I have never called for violence and terrorism. This is not my way," and added, "I am against the crimes that occurred on October 7th." The committee voted overwhelmingly to disqualify Abu Shehadeh, with 30 members in favor and 4 against.
In addition to individual candidates, the committee also voted on disqualifying entire slates. The United Arab List faced a disqualification request submitted by Otzma Yehudit, Likud, and the Liberal National Movement. Following a vote, 18 committee members supported disqualifying the United Arab List, while 5 opposed and one abstained.
The Joint List also faced a disqualification request, submitted by the Likud party, which included a specific request to disqualify MK Ofer Cassif. The committee voted to disqualify the Joint List, with 18 members in favor, 5 against, and one abstention.
Requests were also filed to disqualify Otzma Yehudit, led by Ben-Gvir, and the Religious Zionism party, led by Bezalel Smotrich, though the article does not detail the outcomes of these specific votes. The committee's chairman, Justice Sohlberg, broke with precedent by voting on the disqualification of Sami Abu Shehadeh, siding with the disqualification request.
The same event, reported separately by each outlet. Open a few to compare what different newsrooms emphasize — and what they leave out.
Not the same event — other stories that share this one’s people, places, or theme: background, reactions, and follow-ups.
