Israeli election committee rejects bid to bar extremist Ben-Gvir’s party from Knesset elections

Israel’s Central Elections Committee on Thursday upheld the participation of the far-right Jewish Power party, led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, in the upcoming election and rejected requests to disqualify it, according to media reports.

Channel 13 reported that the committee decided to allow the party to participate in the Oct. 27 elections, with the decision in a 19 – 10 vote, with one member abstaining.

The opposition Democratic Party, led by Yair Golan, had submitted a request to the Central Elections Committee to disqualify Jewish Power, citing “incitement to racism.”

The party said its request was based on grounds including “harming democracy and incitement to racism.”

Channel 13 quoted Knesset member Gilad Kariv of the Democrats party, who submitted one of the disqualification requests, as saying during the hearing that “disqualifying the party is an unusual step, but necessary in light of the racist nature of the party’s list and its leaders.”

The Central Elections Committee voted Wednesday to disqualify the Joint Arab List alliance and the United Arab List, as well as Knesset member Ofer Cassif and Sami Abu Shehadeh, who is running in the election.

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The committee is expected to discuss in its upcoming sessions, which are scheduled to conclude Thursday, a request to disqualify the Religious Zionism and Identity list.

The Central Elections Committee is primarily a political body made up of representatives of parliamentary blocs in the outgoing Knesset, with seats distributed according to the size of their representation. As a result, the governing coalition holds a majority on the committee, which currently has 34 members, according to the Haaretz newspaper.

The committee is responsible for ensuring that the electoral process is conducted properly and reliably from beginning to end, reflecting the will of voters in Israel, according to its website.

The government has been headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since late December 2022, which is described as the most right-wing in Israel’s history.

Netanyahu faces corruption charges that could result in imprisonment if convicted. He has also been wanted since 2024 to appear before the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.

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