Supreme Court Hears Challenges to Disqualify Arab Candidates and Lists
Translated & summarized from Alarab by baba
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Supreme Court reviews disqualification of Arab candidates and lists.
- Central Elections Committee previously banned the candidates and lists.
- Far-right politician Ben-Gvir clashed with justices during a hearing.
- Disqualified candidate Sami Abu Shehadeh denied supporting violence.
- Court's decision will determine election participation.
Israel's Supreme Court convened on Thursday to review decisions by the Central Elections Committee to disqualify Sami Abu Shehadeh, head of the National Democratic Alliance, and MK Ofer Cassif, along with the Joint List and the United Arab List, from participating in the upcoming 26th Knesset elections. The hearings follow the committee's September 23, 2026, decision to ban these candidates and lists, with the final determination now resting with the Supreme Court.
Scheduled sessions included Sami Abu Shehadeh at 10:00 AM, Ofer Cassif at 11:30 AM, the Joint List at 2:00 PM, and the United Arab List at 3:30 PM. The court's rulings are expected to determine the fate of these candidates and lists in the elections.
During the hearing for Abu Shehadeh, far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, representing the Otzma Yehudit party, argued that "they want to kill us all," referring to terrorists and Abu Shehadeh. Ben-Gvir was cautioned by justices against making generalizations towards Arabs. Justice Khaled Kabub recalled Abu Shehadeh's condemnation of the October 7 attacks, while Ben-Gvir questioned how the court would face soldiers if Abu Shehadeh became a Knesset member.
The proceedings also saw a confrontation between justices and Ben-Gvir's lawyer regarding changes to the law and disqualification criteria, touching upon the broader debate over the Supreme Court's powers and the "judicial reform" issue. One judge criticized the notion that speaking Arabic is a "conspiracy," affirming it as a natural language.
Abu Shehadeh stated that a passage in an article attributed to him was "not written correctly" and that his intention was to warn against violence, advocating for a political rather than violent resolution. He asserted, "I have never supported violence in my life. I grew up in Lod and know the victims of October 7."
Following the appeals hearing regarding his disqualification, Abu Shehadeh, MK Ofer Cassif, and their legal representatives from Adalah Center were scheduled to make statements to the media.
Read the original at AlarabMentioned
