Supreme Court Rejects Bid to Disqualify Former Shin Bet Chief Yoram Cohen from Knesset

Israel's Supreme Court on Sunday dismissed a petition seeking to disqualify former Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen, who is running for the Knesset with the "Yashar" party. The petition was filed by activists from "Justice for Amiram Headquarters," who alleged Cohen's involvement in overseeing torture of a minor and Amiram Ben-Uriel during the Duma bombing investigation.

The three-judge panel, led by Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit, rejected the petition outright without a hearing and ordered the petitioners to pay 3,000 shekels in legal costs. The activists, represented by attorney Rachavia Pilz, argued that Cohen's actions during his tenure, including allegedly backing forced confessions and severe human rights violations against detainees, contradict Israel's values as a Jewish and democratic state, thus barring him from the Knesset.

This appeal followed a similar rejection by the Central Elections Committee chairman, Judge Noam Sohlberg, who had previously dismissed their request without a hearing. Following the Supreme Court's decision, the activists stated that an individual who "sanctioned severe human rights violations and the most blatant trampling of detainees' rights in an anti-democratic move, and backed forced confessions, is unfit to serve in the Knesset." They added that no court decision can cleanse the moral and ethical stain on Cohen, asserting he is unfit to be a public figure or serve in the Knesset.