Israel's Supreme Court Allows Some Arab Parties to Participate in Elections

On Sunday, March 17, Israel's Supreme Court permitted certain Arab parties, previously rejected by the country's election committee, to participate in the elections. The court also approved the candidacy of two Israeli Jews on the joint Arab-Israeli list, contrary to the election committee's decision. However, eight out of nine judges barred one Israeli Jew from running due to 'extreme right-wing views.' Dozens of parties have registered to participate in the elections scheduled for April 8. Shortly after the registration deadline, the election committee rejected the joint list of the two Arab parties, Balad and Ra'am. However, the Supreme Court judges unanimously supported the participation of both Balad and Ra'am in the elections during their Sunday session. The judges also ruled that Dr. Ofer Kasif and Itamar Ben-Gvir, despite being Jewish, could run as candidates for the two Arab parties. Arab citizens make up over 20% of Israel's population and have multiple parties participating in this election cycle. Their participation comes amid Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent assertion that Israel is 'not a country for all its citizens but, according to the Jewish Nation-State Law, is exclusively for Jews,' although he stated that Arab rights are 'respected.' In this election cycle, several Jewish figures have expressed interest in running on joint Arab lists rather than Zionist parties. The left-wing Israeli party Meretz has allocated 40% of its candidates, the highest ever, to Israeli Arab figures. Arabs previously participated in a joint national list led by lawyer Ayman Odeh and achieved significant success. The Supreme Court's decision on Sunday to disqualify Michael Ben-Ari, a candidate from the newly established Jewish Power party, is seen as a blow to this party and its supporters. Opponents of Dr. Ben-Ari have labeled him as a supporter of the views of Rabbi Meir Kahane. Rabbi Kahane, born in New York, immigrated to Israel in 1971 and, despite facing legal rulings in Israel and the U.S. for violence, led a far-right movement supporting Jewish settlements called 'Kach,' becoming a staunch opponent of returning Arab lands to the Knesset. However, a law passed in 1988 prevented the continued candidacy of the 'Kach' movement and similar extremist parties in Knesset elections. Meir Kahane was killed in New York in 1990 by an Egyptian extremist. According to Ynet, Dr. Ben-Ari, who denies his connection to Kahane's extremist views, condemned the Supreme Court's ruling and accused the judges of 'dictatorship.' Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the ruling Likud party, previously supported the presence of the newly established Jewish Power party among right-wing parties, stating he needed a strong right-wing faction to form the next government. This intervention faced severe criticism from opposition leaders, including Benny Gantz, leader of the rival Blue and White coalition. AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, also issued an unprecedented statement criticizing the Prime Minister's involvement in the rise of this far-right movement. Reports indicate that this is the first time in 70 years of elections in Israel that the Supreme Court has rejected an individual candidate rather than a list. Despite the Supreme Court's ruling, which supporters of Benjamin Netanyahu may interpret as beneficial to Arab parties and a weakening of the right-wing, recent polls suggest that his chances of forming a new government relying on a coalition of right-wing and religious parties are greater than those of the rival center and left.