The Supreme Court on Sunday banned Michael Ben-Ari, the leader of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, from running in the country's April elections. The court did approve the candidacy of party colleague Itamar Ben-Gvirm, as well as all the Arab parties.
With its decision, the court essentially implemented the recommendations of Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit, and overruled the Central Elections Committee which earlier this month decided to disqualify the Balad-Ra'am list and Hadash candidate Ofer Cassif, the far-left, Arab-majority party's only Jewish candidate.
The court ruled to bar Ben-Ari in an 8-1 vote, citing his anti-Arab ideology and incitement.
In response, Ben-Ari slammed Mendelblit and the Supreme Court as a "judicial junta that seeks to take over our lives. This isn't democracy." He added: "We will win. This is not the end."
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (New Right) said disqualifying Ben-Ari "while declaring terror-backing parties kosher, is crass and misguided interference in the heart of Israeli democracy."
"It's the last straw for the High Court's justices – and they have changed themselves into political actors," she said. The decision, "tramples on the decisions of the Central Elections Committee," she added.
Ben-Gvir labeled the decision a "dark day for democracy," and noted it was the first time the High Court had ever disqualified a Knesset candidate approved by the Central Elections Committee.
On the Left, meanwhile, the court's decision was widely welcomed.
Balad-Ra'am, which holds eight of the Joint Arab List's 12 seats in the current Knesset, said the Supreme Court had upheld its "fundamental right to represent our electorate while [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and [Blue and White party leader Benny] Gantz compete to see who can incite more powerfully against the Arab public."
Labor Party chairman Avi Gabbay said in response to the disqualification of Ben-Ari, "Good riddance. We welcome the decision of the Supreme Court not to allow Michael Ben-Ari to compete and be elected to the Knesset under the auspices of Netanyahu. We fought for this together with [Labor] MK Stav Shafir and other partners, and tonight the Supreme Court ruled as well that there is no place for racists and inciters in the Israeli Knesset."
Meretz chairwoman MK Tamar Zandberg praised the Supreme Court's decision as well, saying, "[Netanyahu] brought in and Meretz took out. Anyone who believes in racial superiority should be behind bars and not in the Israeli Knesset, and it is a good thing that the court spoke clearly. The prime minister's attempt to bring in the Kahanists is another link in the dark and racist chain that has been created here in recent years, and it is good that Meretz is around to stand up to it."
Gantz, Netanyahu's main centrist rival, also welcomed the decision.
"It's good that there are judges in Jerusalem who are able to place boundaries," he said.
Gantz's Blue and White party said in a statement that it "respects the court's ruling, but we also believe that Balad, which isn't worthy of being elected to the Israeli Knesset, should have been barred as well."
