Israel's Supreme Court Rejects Bid to Disqualify Jewish Power Party

Israel's Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition seeking to disqualify the "Otzma Yehudit" (Jewish Power) party from running in the upcoming 26th Knesset elections. This decision marks the second time in a week that attempts to ban the party, led by Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have failed. The initial petition was filed by the Zulat Institute for Equality and Human Rights, former IDF Chief of Staff and Defense Minister Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon, and other plaintiffs.

They argued that Otzma Yehudit should be disqualified under Basic Law: The Knesset, citing claims related to denying the existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state and incitement to racism. Former Interior Minister Omer Bar-Lev also joined the petition. Simultaneously, individual disqualification requests were filed against some party candidates.

Last week, the Central Elections Committee also rejected similar petitions to disqualify the party. The committee voted 19-10 against disqualification, with one abstention. During that hearing, the representative of the Attorney General stated that while the party "approaches the forbidden threshold of disqualifying a party due to incitement to racism," it did not meet the evidentiary standard required for disqualification.

Following the Elections Committee's ruling, the Zulat Institute, Ya'alon, and others appealed to the Supreme Court. The court's dismissal of the petition on the merits means that Otzma Yehudit remains eligible to compete in the elections. The party is running independently in the upcoming elections.