Sami Abu Shehadeh withdraws candidacy after Supreme Court pressure

The political landscape of Israel faced heightened scrutiny after Balad party leader Sami Abu Shehadeh withdrew his candidacy for the upcoming October 27 Knesset elections following Supreme Court pressure, while far-right Jewish parties remained cleared to run.

Supreme Court Pressure Forces Sami Abu Shehadeh Off the Ballot

Sami Abu Shehadeh, chairman of the Balad party and a former Knesset member, withdrew his candidacy on Friday after a majority of the Supreme Court’s nine-justice panel indicated they were prepared to approve his disqualification. The Central Elections Committee had previously voted 31-4 to disqualify Abu Shehadeh. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party brought the application against him, pointing to an Arabic-language article Abu Shehadeh published on October 8, 2023. In that piece, written the day after Hamas-led attacks on Israel, he described the assault as an important historical event militarily, politically, and strategically.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara backed the disqualification, arguing the wording amounted to support for an armed struggle. During Supreme Court hearings on Thursday, Abu Shehadeh stated that he did not support armed struggle and acknowledged that a paragraph in the article had been incorrectly worded. Justice Amit noted during a court break that the justices unanimously viewed the statements as painful, outrageous, and repugnant, even as they disagreed on the legal outcome. Adalah, the legal rights group representing Abu Shehadeh, described the proceedings as “arbitrary, inciting, and racist.”

Central Elections Committee Clears Far-Right Parties and Arab Blocs

While Abu Shehadeh stepped down, the Supreme Court overturned the Central Elections Committee’s decisions to ban two major Arab-majority electoral lists—the Joint List and Ra’am—along with Hadash lawmaker Ofer Cassif. Section 7A of Basic Law: The Knesset sets grounds for barring candidates or lists for rejecting Israel’s character as a Jewish and democratic state, inciting racism, or supporting armed struggle. The Supreme Court ruled that applying these criteria requires extreme cases supported by clear, convincing, and unequivocal evidence.

Petitions seeking to ban the parties of far-right cabinet members including Itamar Ben-Gvir were rejected by the Central Elections Committee, allowing those factions to remain on the ballot. Critics and Palestinian rights groups pointed to this contrast as a double standard, noting that Arab candidates faced intense scrutiny and removal attempts while far-right politicians accused of inciting violence against Palestinians stayed cleared to run.

Electoral Stakes and Kingmaker Dynamics Ahead of October 27

The upcoming October 27 general election takes place against a backdrop of tight polling where neither right-wing nor left-wing Jewish political alliances appear to hold enough votes to form an outright majority on their own. The restoration of the Arab parties to the ballot positions minority voting blocs to potentially play a kingmaker role after the votes are cast. Observers and political analysts note that legal challenges against Arab politicians reflect broader campaign strategies among incumbent leaders seeking to shape the composition of the next parliament.

“Above all, our primary focus, outrage, and ongoing struggle must remain centered on the disgraceful disqualification of my colleague and friend, Sami Abu Shehadeh.”