Israeli Supreme Court cancels disqualification of Arab MK Haneen Zoabi from 2015 general elections
On 18 February 2015, in an 8-1 ruling, the Israeli Supreme Court decided to overturn the Central Elections Committee's (CEC) decision to disqualify Arab MK Haneen Zoabi (Tajammu'/Balad) from the upcoming general elections. The CEC voted to disqualify MK Zoabi on 12 February by 27 votes to 6.
Adalah's General Director Attorney Hassan Jabareen, who represented MK Zoabi, commented on the ruling:
"The gap between the discourse of the CEC, which incites and portrays Arab MKs as supporters of terrorism, and the decisions of the Supreme Court, which repeatedly cancel the disqualification motions by an overwhelming majority, demonstrates the improper motives of the Committee. The decisions of the CEC are not only harming the Arab political parties and candidates, but are also violating the basic rights of Arab citizens of Israel, namely their rights to political participation, freedom of expression, equality and dignity."
Attorney Jabareen added: "Since 2003, Adalah has represented Arab political parties and MKs against disqualification motions approved by the CEC. This is a process that exists solely to subject the Arab minority to the authority and monitoring of the Jewish majority, which perpetuates the delegitimization of Arabs citizens of Israel. It is time to strip the CEC of this authority and transfer it to the courts."
Read more:
- Adalah press release, Central Elections Committee disqualifies MK Haneen Zoabi from running in upcoming Israeli elections, 16 February 2015
- Adalah briefing paper, Elections Q&A: The 2015 Israeli Elections and Arab Parliamentarians, February 2015
