18 March 2019

Israel’s Supreme Court bans far-right candidate Ben-Ari

On 18 March Israeli Supreme Court overturned the decision of the Knesset’s electoral committee deciding to accept the Arab party and to ban the leader of the far-right faction “Jewish Power” for the general election to be held on 9 April. On 9 March the Israeli electoral committee decided to deny the permission to run for the elections to two Arab parties (Ra’am and Balad) officially because they “express views supporting terror or reject[ing] Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state”. In the same decision, that followed a petition posed by a far-right faction, Ben-Ari was allowed to participate. Two weeks later, the sentence of the Supreme Court of Israel overturned the decision banning the head of “Jewish Power” considered responsible for racist remarks. Analysts said that this sentence will not change the polls’ equilibria considering that other leaders of “Jewish Power” are still allowed to run. In the last surveys, PM Netanyahu’s Likud is ruling, followed by the “Blue and White” centrist coalition.

circle graphic