Israel’s Central Election Committee, led by Supreme Court justice Uzi Fogelman, voted Wednesday to accept a petition by Otzma Yehudit chief Itamar Ben-Gvir banning Ibtisam Mara'ana, number seven on the Labor Party’s Knesset slate, from running in next month’s general election.
“I submitted a request…because she is a candidate in the historic Labor Party, who despite my disagreements with its leaders today, built this country,” said Ben-Gvir.
A similar petition aimed at disqualifying Mara’ana was submitted by Maozia Segal, a wounded IDF veteran, who later withdrew the request.
An Israeli-Arab filmmaker from Jaffa, Mara’ana has faced criticism for her anti-Zionist comments, her attacks on the IDF, and her public refusal to observe the two-minute siren on Memorial Day.
Over the weekend, Mara’ana apologized for posts on social media bragging about having ignored the memorial siren.
"I stand for the siren when I'm outside. I apologize that [my post] hurt a mother, father, brother or sister who lost their daughter or son - it doesn't matter what the reasons are," she told Channel 12 News.
In other social media posts, Mara’ana called Israel an “ugly” country, and claimed tht the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip is a “ghetto under brutal occupation”.
Two months ago, Mara’ana lambasted the IDF as an “occupation army”, and accused IDF soldiers of murdering an Arab child.
While the Central Election Committee has ruled in favor of barring Mara’ana from running in next month’s election, Mara’ana will be able to appeal the decision to the Israeli Supreme Court.