Election Committee Allows Yair Golan's Democrats to Run for Knesset

Israel's Central Elections Committee has rejected a request by the Otzma Yehudit party to disqualify the "Democrats led by Yair Golan" list from competing in the upcoming 26th Knesset elections. The committee voted 14-2 to allow the party to run, concluding a marathon session of disqualification hearings.

Otzma Yehudit based its petition on two grounds: denying Israel's existence as a Jewish and democratic state, and incitement to racism. The party cited statements by Golan, including calling settlers in Homesh "sub-human" and referring to the Haredi public as a "parasitic population." The petition also highlighted Golan's stances on labor, taxation, core curriculum studies, and secularism, as well as his alleged calls for civil disobedience during protests against the judicial overhaul and for reservists to refuse duty until the government changed.

Further claims by Otzma Yehudit included Golan's stated intention to close Channel 14 and a plan attributed to party candidate Tomer Avital to "crush Channel 14 in the next term." Despite these arguments, the committee overwhelmingly dismissed the disqualification grounds.

The decision came a day after the committee disqualified the Ra'am and Hadash-Ta'al parties. Golan criticized the Ra'am disqualification, calling it a mistake and vowing to defend the party. Earlier, the committee also allowed Otzma Yehudit itself to run, rejecting a bid to disqualify it. The committee's decisions on disqualifications are now final, though some may be appealed to the Supreme Court.