Arab parties barred by Israel election panel: What's next?

Israel's Central Elections Committee voted to bar every Arab party from the October 27 election. Jerusalem Post legal affairs correspondent Sarah Ben-Nun explains what happens next. The committee voted to disqualify Ra'am, the Joint List, Hadash MK Ofer Cassif and Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh. It rejected petitions against Otzma Yehudit and the Religious Zionist party Zehut. None of these decisions is final until the Supreme Court rules. Ben-Nun walks through the three grounds for disqualification under Section 7A of Basic Law: The Knesset.  She explains why Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara opposed barring the parties but backed disqualifying Abu Shehadeh over an article he published on October 8, 2023. She also explains why committee chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg's rare decision to cast a vote matters. "The committee is a political committee," Ben-Nun tells the host Jacob Laznik, "but it is also a really necessary mechanism." She notes that the Supreme Court has traditionally read Section 7A very narrowly and has barred candidates only a handful of times. The conversation also covers the stakes beyond the courtroom. Arab Israeli leaders have voiced fears of voter intimidation, and the Joint List could be thrown into chaos if a faction head is removed after the list deadline. Ben-Nun also explains why a ruling against Abu Shehadeh could set a lasting precedent for political speech during wartime. Throughout, she draws a line between a petition being filed, a committee vote, and a final court ruling, which voters often blur.