Far-Right Activist Confronts Disqualified Arab MK in Jaffa

Viral right-wing activist Mordechai David released a video showing him confronting Sami Abu Shehadeh, chairman of the Balad party, in the city of Jaffa. The confrontation occurred shortly after the Central Elections Committee disqualified Abu Shehadeh from running for the Knesset. In the video, David is heard telling Abu Shehadeh, "Sami Abu Shehadeh is running away here in Jaffa. In Jaffa, you are banned, you are banned in memory of bin Laden."

Abu Shehadeh, who is seen in the video looking at David with a slight smile, did not respond verbally. David added a text caption to the video, stating, "Sami Abu Shehadeh swallowed his tongue, he's a hero in the studios." The disqualification decision by the Central Elections Committee was made with a majority of 31 in favor and 4 against. Committee Chairman Judge Solberg supported the disqualification, stating it was a rare but clear case.

The request to disqualify Abu Shehadeh was submitted by the Otzma Yehudit party and Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. It referenced an article Abu Shehadeh published on October 8, 2023, the day after the October 7th Hamas attack, in which he described the attack as a "historically important event militarily, politically, and strategically."

Several opposition parties and figures, including Yair Golan, Gadi Eisenkot, and Avigdor Lieberman, had announced their support for the disqualification request prior to the committee's hearing. In a recent interview with Egyptian channel Al-Ghad, Abu Shehadeh called the Central Elections Committee a "political committee" and suggested the Supreme Court would need to decide whether to "obey" the political decision or rule professionally. He also claimed that Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir fear the Arab vote, leading to five disqualification requests against two Arab lists.