The Israeli Bar Association voted Tuesday not to allow Itamar Ben-Gvir, a well-known nationalist activist, to practice law. The Association held a committee vote on whether to let Ben-Gvir begin his internship as a lawyer, and the result was deadlock: seven for, seven against.

Senior lawyers who took part in the vote told Arutz Sheva that the vote was an act of "political persecution."
 
In the past, they said, the Israeli Bar Association accepted into its ranks an Arab former terrorist who had served a four-year sentence for attempting to kidnap a soldier. The former terrorist carried out additional security offenses after he had been freed from jail and had begun studying law. He is currently a practicing lawyer in Israel.
 
Itamar Ben-Gvir is the spokesman for the Jewish National Front, which ran for Knesset in the 2006 elections but received less than the minimum number of votes required for representation. In 2008, prior to the elections for the 18th Knesset, the party merged with Our Land of Israel, which joined with the larger National Union.