Israel’s highest court unanimously reversed a ban on Arab parties from participating in elections slated for the end of October.
27 vote. In a last-ditch effort to mobilize his base 11 years ago, the prime minister warned that the Israeli Right was in danger as Arab-Israelis flocked to the polls “in droves. 7, 2023 Hamas attack , which described the assault as a natural response to Israeli policy. Many point to the Ra’am party, which was a member of Israel’s ruling coalition between 2021 and 2022, the first time an Arab party had formally taken such a step.
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court announced that it would likely uphold a related central election committee ban against Sami Abu Shehadeh, an Arab-Israeli politician. The Supreme Court ruling Friday came after a move last week by Israel’s central elections committee, a body controlled by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his right-wing bloc, to prohibit all four Arab-majority parties registered in the Oct. The disqualification applied to the United Arab List, commonly known as Ra’am and led by Mansour Abbas, and the Joint List, a coalition of three Arab parties. In this election, Yoav Segalovich, a Jewish-Israeli and formerly a high-ranking police official, is running as deputy leader of Ra’am in an attempt to attract both Jewish and Arab voters.
“We will go to the ballots in droves,” the Joint List said a statement following the Supreme Court ruling, in a reference to remarks by Netanyahu in 2015. The court said Abu Shehadeh might have crossed the threshold for supporting a terrorist group, citing an op-ed he wrote immediately after the Oct. Abu Shehadeh on Friday officially withdrew from the election, saying in a video announcement that “they will not ease our cause, our voice, or our right to engage in political activity.
That means negotiations would likely follow with other parties to form a government. Neither Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition, nor his main opponent, former general Gadi Eisenkot, are expected to clinch a 61-seat majority in the 120-seat parliament, according to most public opinion polls.
