Israel’s Supreme Court held a series of hearings Thursday on appeals against the Central Elections Committee’s decisions to disqualify Balad's Sami Abu Shahhdah, Hadash's Ofer Cassif, the Joint List and the United Arab List (Ra'am) from the upcoming Knesset election.
An expanded panel of nine justices hearing the cases will have to publish its ruling by this Sunday, 23 days before election day. The panel consists of Supreme Court President Isaac Amit and Justices Daphne Barak-Erez, David Mintz, Yael Willner, Ofer Grosskopf, Alex Stein, Gila Canfy-Steinitz, Khaled Kabub, and Yechiel Kasher. The nine justices represent nine of the 11 currently serving on the Supreme Court. Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Sohlberg also serves as chairman of the Central Elections Committee, and it is not customary for the committee's chairman to participate in hearings of this kind.
Supreme Court President Amit opened the proceedings by warning that the power to disqualify candidates is “double-edged" and calling on all sides to maintain restraint and mutual respect.
The first hearing focuses on Abu Shahhdah, whose disqualification was approved by the Elections Committee. The case centers largely on an article he published on October 8, 2023, which petitioners argue expressed support for armed struggle against Israel. Sami says he has repeatedly opposed attacks on civilians and called for a ceasefire.
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and State Attorney Amit Aisman have asked the court to uphold Sami's disqualification, arguing that his statements amounted to support for armed struggle.
Justice Alex Stein said during the hearing: "When Justice Kasher and I read the article Abu Shehadeh wrote on October 8, in real time and spontaneously, we concluded that he supports terrorism. The explanations offered 'after the fact' are what is known as 'cheap talk.'"
Abu Shehadeh's attorney, Hassan Jabareen, argued during the hearing that describing October 7 as "a historic and strategic event" does not constitute support for armed struggle.
Justice Daphne Barak-Erez addressed Attorney Yonatan Berman, representing the Attorney General, and asked: "We live in Israel. We know this. There is a legal question of how to reconcile the fact that this is a shocking article that demonstrates a lack of human empathy for what happened on October 7 - that is a clear conclusion. How does that align with the strict and stringent standard for disqualifying a candidate?"
Justice Stein then addressed Abu Shehadeh, saying: "You have a great many publications in English. Show me one article in which you wrote in English that Hamas is a terrorist organization."
Abu Shehadeh replied: "There is no such article."
At the conclusion of the hearing, Supreme Court President Isaac Amit, with the agreement of the justices on the panel, proposed that Abu Shehadeh voluntarily withdraw his candidacy for the Knesset, in which case the court would not issue a reasoned ruling upholding his disqualification. Abu Shehadeh was given until tomorrow morning to respond to the proposal.
The court will then hear the appeal concerning Ofer Cassif. Likud cited his support for South Africa’s proceedings against Israel at The Hague, calls for international sanctions against settlements, and other statements and actions. Cassif rejects the allegations and argues that opposing government policy does not constitute support for armed struggle. The Attorney General’s Office opposes his disqualification.
The Joint List is also appealing its disqualification. Likud cited statements and positions attributed to members of the list, including opposition to the Nation-State Law and calls for a democratic and egalitarian state. The Joint List argues that much of the evidence is outdated and that its current platform does not justify disqualification. The Attorney General’s Office likewise opposes barring the list.
The final hearing concerns Ra'am, which was disqualified following petitions by Likud, Otzma Yehudit and the Choosing Life Forum. The petitioners allege links between the party and organizations they claim assisted terrorist groups. Ra'am rejects the allegations and says the claims rely on matters previously examined and rejected. The Attorney General’s Office has also opposed its disqualification.
Outside the courthouse, supporters of the Joint List demonstrated, while Choosing Life activists protested against them. Several confrontations were reported, including an exchange between protesters and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who attended the hearing concerning Abu Shahhdah. Joint List chairman Yosef Jabareen has also appealed to the Inter-Parliamentary Union for international intervention over the disqualification proceedings.