Hours after a petition was filed seeking its own disqualification, the Otzma Yehudit party approached the Central Elections Committee on Monday evening, demanding that the Democrats slate, headed by Yair Golan, be barred from running in the elections.
The legal move is based on the provisions of Section 7A of Basic Law: The Knesset. The petition details two primary grounds for disqualification: “incitement to racism and negation of the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state."
To substantiate its demand, the petition includes a collection of evidence comprising a series of public statements directed against the Haredi community and the settlement movement. Among the examples cited is Golan’s description of the residents of Homesh as “subhuman," as well as statements in which he referred to the Haredi community as a “parasitic population."
The petition also reviews Golan’s positions on economic and social issues, including employment, taxation policy, the incorporation of core curriculum studies, and secularization.
Another major section of the petition focuses on what it describes as a planned infringement on freedom of speech and freedom of the press, with particular emphasis on actions targeting a specific media outlet.
The petition notes that Golan publicly declared his intention to work to shut down Channel 14, while another candidate on his slate, Tomer Avital, presented a plan aimed at “crushing Channel 14 in the next Knesset term."
Otzma Yehudit also cites calls to undermine the IDF reserve system. According to the document, during the protests against the judicial reform in 2024, Golan called for “civil disobedience," including a call not to report for reserve duty until the government was replaced. The petition states that other candidates on the Democrats slate also made statements along similar lines.
Earlier, the Democrats party filed a petition seeking to disqualify Otzma Yehudit from running in the elections. The petition alleged “harm to democracy and negation of the existence of the State of Israel as a democratic state, as well as incitement to racism."
The document submitted to the committee claimed: “The representatives of Kahanism in the Israeli Knesset are no longer engaged merely in theory, but are using their governmental power and the immunity granted to them to crush the rule of law, violate judicial orders, refuse to recognize the authority of the High Court of Justice, harm state security, and incite violent racism."
The petition specifically named the candidates occupying the top positions on the slate - Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and MK Tally Gotliv.
Otzma Yehudit responded: “The Democrats party is an antisemitic, anti-Israel party. It is headed by a man who said that IDF soldiers kill babies as a hobby; members of this party led the refusal to serve in the IDF on the eve of October 7; they provided legal representation to terrorists; and only today they backed the antisemitic incitement film against the IDF."
“The fact that such a party is represented in the Knesset is a badge of shame for the State of Israel," the party concluded.