Israel Supreme Court Overturns Ban on Arab Parties Ahead of Election

Israel’s Supreme Court has overturned a decision by the Central Elections Committee to disqualify two major Arab-majority political lists from contesting the country’s upcoming parliamentary elections.

The court ruled unanimously on Friday that the legal requirements for excluding the Ra’am (United Arab List) and the Joint List, an alliance of Hadash, Ta’al and Balad, had not been met.

The decision allows Palestinian citizens of Israel, who make up about 20 percent of the country’s population, to remain in the race ahead of the October 27 Knesset elections.

The Supreme Court also voted 7–2 to reinstate Ofer Cassif, a Jewish Knesset member from the Arab-Jewish Hadash party. Two judges opposed his reinstatement, arguing that his support for what they described as an “armed struggle against the state of Israel” justified his disqualification.

The Central Elections Committee had voted in September to bar the two Arab party lists, as well as Cassif and Balad leader Sami Abu Shehadeh, from the election.

Balad Leader Withdraws

Despite the court’s decision to restore the Arab parties, Abu Shehadeh withdrew his candidacy after Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit told him that a majority of the nine judges favoured disqualifying him.

He was given until Friday to withdraw voluntarily, otherwise the court was expected to disqualify him.

Abu Shehadeh said he had withdrawn because he had “no other choices,” while Balad argued that a court-ordered removal would have created a significant precedent for excluding Arab candidates from Israeli elections.

The disqualification campaign against Abu Shehadeh was led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who objected to an article Abu Shehadeh wrote following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. Abu Shehadeh described the attack as an important historical event but denied supporting it.

Disqualification Controversy

The September decision by the election committee had triggered accusations of unequal treatment, with critics arguing that Arab-led parties were being targeted for exclusion while far-right political figures remained eligible to contest the election.

Ra’am made history in 2021 by becoming the first independent Arab party to join an Israeli governing coalition.

For the upcoming election, the party is also fielding a Jewish Zionist candidate, Yoav Segalovitz, who gained support in Arab communities through his work on combating crime.

Although the Supreme Court has restored the two Arab party lists to the ballot, Abu Shehadeh said the original disqualifications represented a serious setback for Israeli democracy.

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