Israel panel disqualifies Ra'am and Joint List pending Supreme Court
Israel's Central Elections Committee voted to bar/disqualify Ra'am and the Joint List from contesting next month's Knesset elections, pending Supreme Court review.
This is a big deal because polls showed these parties could have won up to 12 seats, which might have tipped the balance in a tight race where neither Netanyahu's coalition nor the main opposition is expected to get a clear majority.
The final call on whether individual candidates can run now rests with Israel's Supreme Court.
Petitions accuse Ra'am under Article 7A
The committee acted after petitions from Likud, Jewish Power, and the Choose Life Forum, a non-government organization, accused Ra'am of supporting armed struggle against Israel, citing Article 7A of Israel's Basic Law.
Critics, including legal advocacy group Adalah, say there is not enough evidence and worry this law is being used for political reasons.
Interestingly, similar bans on Arab parties have often been overturned by the Supreme Court before, so this story might not be over yet.