Supreme Court Allows Ra’am, Joint List and Ofer Cassif to Run in Election (Updated)
Updates
- October 2, 2026: Israel’s Supreme Court on Friday allowed Ra’am, the Joint List and MK Ofer Cassif to contest elections to the 26th Knesset, overturning Central Elections Committee disqualifications. The nine-justice panel unanimously reinstated both lists and approved Cassif’s candidacy by seven votes to two, with Justices David Mintz and Alex Stein dissenting. The majority found that the evidence did not meet the strict legal threshold required to disqualify Cassif or the lists. All nine justices condemned Cassif’s statements and actions; the dissenting judges considered his conduct sufficient to establish support for armed struggle against Israel.
- On October 2, the Supreme Court recorded Sami Abu Shehadeh’s withdrawal from the candidate list and closed his disqualification proceeding without deciding its merits.
Original report
Israel's Central Elections Committee began hearings Wednesday on 10 requests to disqualify candidates and party lists from the 26th Knesset election. Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg chaired the proceedings. The requests involve Sami Abu Shehadeh and Ofer Cassif, as well as Ra'am, the Joint List, Religious Zionism and Zehut, the Democrats, and Otzma Yehudit. Some requests concern individual candidates, while others concern party lists. The report announcing the start of the hearings did not say that the committee had decided any of the requests.
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