Election Committee Allows Jewish Power Party to Run for Knesset

The Central Elections Committee has ruled that the Otzma Yehudit party, led by Itamar Ben-Gvir, will be permitted to compete in the upcoming 26th Knesset elections. The decision was made by a significant majority of 19 votes to 10, with one abstention, rejecting a petition to disqualify the party. The ruling followed heated exchanges in the committee room, including a controversial comparison of Otzma Yehudit to Nazism by former MK Yael German, which drew sharp condemnation from Ben-Gvir and MK Tali Gottlieb, who called it a "desecration of the Holocaust."

The representative for the Attorney General stated that while some party members' remarks were uncomfortable and approached the threshold for disqualification, there was "no critical mass to disqualify the entire list." This position was based partly on clarifications from Ben-Gvir that his statements were not directed at the entire Arab population and on past Supreme Court rulings. The petition against Otzma Yehudit cited incitement to racism and a denial of the state's democratic character, based on Section 7a of the Basic Law: The Knesset.

The vote revealed a political split within the opposition. Representatives from Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid and Naftali Bennett's parties supported disqualifying Otzma Yehudit, a day after they abstained from voting on the disqualification of the Ra'am and Joint List parties. In contrast, Yisrael Beiteinu voted against disqualifying Otzma Yehudit.

Otzma Yehudit's leader, Itamar Ben-Gvir, criticized the opposition's stance, highlighting the perceived double standard. "Yesterday, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid abstained from voting to disqualify Ra'am, to disqualify the Joint List, and today they come to disqualify me," he stated. "They tried to physically harm me, today they tried to politically assassinate me. I will continue to act for the people of Israel, the land of Israel, and the Torah of Israel, and against terrorists in prisons and to arm the people of Israel."

Legal battles over party disqualifications are expected to continue, with the Supreme Court likely to review any appeals. The court's past interventions in similar decisions by the Elections Committee suggest the final outcome for all disqualified parties, including Ra'am and the Joint List which were disqualified yesterday, is not yet certain.