Yair Golan Slams Ra'am Disqualification, Vows Coalition Inclusion

Yair Golan, chairman of the Democrats party, has strongly condemned the Central Elections Committee's decision to disqualify the Ra'am party from participating in upcoming elections. Golan declared his party's firm opposition to the disqualification, vowing to defend Ra'am throughout the process.

In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Golan praised Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas for choosing a path of Jewish-Arab partnership and integration into Israeli society, including entering a coalition with Zionist parties. He argued that this choice should be strengthened, not rejected.

Golan clarified his party's stance on disqualifications, differentiating between parties and individuals. He stated that the Democrats opposed the disqualification of Ra'am and the Joint List, but supported the individual disqualification of Sami Abu Shehadeh due to the severity of his statements. "We did not disqualify a public, nor did we disqualify a Jewish-Arab partnership," Golan asserted.

Looking ahead to the formation of the next government, Golan declared his intention to work towards establishing a broad, democratic government that includes Ra'am. "Arab citizens of Israel are part of the State of Israel and have every right to be partners in its leadership," he stated, adding, "Confident Zionism is not afraid of partnership, equality, and responsibility, this is the state we will rebuild together."

The Central Elections Committee's decision, made on Wednesday after a heated debate, has reignited political and legal tensions surrounding Arab parties in Israel.