High-profile case9/23/2026

Elections Committee Disqualifies Abu Shehadeh and Cassif: Final Say Rests With the High Court of Justice

The Central Elections Committee barred Balad Chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh and MK Ofer Cassif from running in the Knesset elections. The decisions may be appealed to the High Court of Justice; the source does not report a final decision on the petitions against the Ra’am party.

Key facts

•Body: Central Elections Committee
•Publication date: September 23, 2026
•Disqualified: Sami Abu Shehadeh and Ofer Cassif
•Legal provision: Section 7A of Basic Law: The Knesset
•The outcome concerning Ra’am was not stated in the source
•An appeal may be filed with the High Court of Justice

Whom They Sought to Disqualify and Why

The petition against Abu Shehadeh was filed by the Otzma Yehudit party, and the petition against Cassif by Likud. In Abu Shehadeh’s case, the dispute concerned, among other things, an article he published on October 8 following the Hamas attack. He told the committee that he should not have published that text, condemned the events of October 7, and denied supporting an armed struggle by Hamas or any other organization.

What the Committee Decided

The Central Elections Committee ruled that Sami Abu Shehadeh may not run for the Knesset; the committee chairman, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, also took the unusual step of supporting the disqualification. The committee voted separately in favor of disqualifying Ofer Cassif. The article mentioned three petitions against the Ra’am list, but did not state the results of the votes on them.

The Legal Basis

The petitions were heard under Section 7A of Basic Law: The Knesset. The section allows a candidate or list to be barred from running due to denial of Israel’s existence as a Jewish and democratic state, incitement to racism, or support for an armed struggle by an enemy state or terrorist organization against Israel. Sohlberg emphasized that this provision must be applied with restraint to preserve the ability to express a range of views within the democratic process.

What Happens Next

Decisions by the Central Elections Committee may be appealed to the High Court of Justice. The source notes that the Supreme Court previously overturned committee decisions to disqualify Balad, its candidates, and Cassif himself ahead of the April 2019 elections. In Abu Shehadeh’s case, the Court will likely be required to examine whether the body of evidence meets the threshold established in case law.

What this means for you

The Central Elections Committee’s decision may still be reconsidered by the Supreme Court, so the participation of the candidates in question in the elections has not yet been finally determined. For voters, this means that the composition of the candidates and lists permitted to run may change following the legal proceedings. The mere existence of harsh or controversial statements does not automatically lead to disqualification: the Court examines whether one of the grounds in Section 7A has been proven and whether the high threshold for intervention has been met.

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