Exclusion of Arab lists from Knesset election is ‘surrender to Kahanism’: Report

Israeli daily Haaretz on Thursday criticized a decision by Israel’s election authority to exclude Arab lists from the parliamentary elections scheduled for next month, calling it evidence of “surrender to the rule of Kahanism.”

Israel’s Central Elections Committee voted Wednesday to exclude the Joint Arab List alliance and the United Arab List party, as well as Knesset member Ofer Cassif and Sami Abu Shehadeh, who is running for the elections.

In its editorial, the newspaper said that “both the disqualification and the vitriol it sparked are a document of surrender to the rule of Kahanism and reflected obedience to its rules.”

The term “Kahanist rule” refers to the Israeli political establishment’s submission to the far-right ideology associated with Meir Kahane, a radical Israeli-American rabbi and politician who founded the far-right fascist ideology known as Kahanism.

Kahane was born in New York in 1932 and assassinated there in 1990, and is considered the spiritual father of far-right religious Zionist currents active in Israel today.

“This policy is encouraged and fueled by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who reaps political capital from it,” the newspaper added.

It said that “Netanyahu’s greatest achievement, which benefits him politically, has been to make even the opposition view Arab voices as criminal.”

The newspaper called on Israel’s Supreme Court to overturn the Central Elections Committee’s decision and protect Arabs’ right to vote and run for the Knesset.

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 those blocs’ representation. As a result, the governing coalition holds a majority on the committee, which currently has 34 members, according to Haaretz.

The committee is tasked with ensuring a proper and credible electoral process from beginning to end, reflecting the will of voters in Israel, according to its website.

The election is scheduled for Oct. 27, with 38 lists registered to compete, while opinion polls project that 13 lists will enter the Knesset.

Netanyahu has headed the current government 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 Gaza.