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| Disqualification of Arab party and members of Knesset to run in next election | Date: 08-01-2003 |
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Tomorrow Israeli Supreme Court must overturn disqualification of Arab party and members of Knesset to run in next election The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) strongly condemns the decision of the Israeli Central Elections Committee (CEC) to disqualify the National Democratic Assembly (NDA) and two Members of Knesset, Dr. Azmi Bishara and Dr. Ahmad Tibi, from the Israeli elections to be held on 28 January. The NDA is an Arab political party, and Bishara and Tibi are both prominent Arab politicians. One other Arab MK and two other Arab political parties were subject to disqualification in the CEC, but only the disqualifications of the NDA, Bishara and Tibi passed. The forty-one members CEC, which is comprised of representatives of political parties of the current Knesset, voted on this matter on 30 and 31December 2002. The motions to disqualify the NDA and the two MKs passed despite the recommendation of the CEC chairman, Supreme Court Justice Mishael Heshin advising against the disqualifications. According to Israeli law, decisions to disqualify political parties from elections can be appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court, and decisions to disqualify Knesset members must be confirmed by the Supreme Court before being enacted. The Supreme Court will deliver its decision on these cases tomorrow, 9 January. The motions to disqualify the NDA and Bishara were based on allegations that he and the NDA ‘deny the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state,(1) ’ and that Bishara and Tibi lend support to ‘armed struggle, of an enemy state or of a terrorist organization against the State of Israel,’ offences that transgress Israeli Basic Law. However, banning the NDA, Bishara and Tibi from the elections is in itself undemocratic, violating the right to equality between citizens and the principle of law. Furthermore, evidence that Bishara and Tibi have supported terrorist activities is unfounded, and relies on a definition of ‘support of terror’ that itself violates fundamental rights of freedom of expression. Finally, it is argued (2) that the motions for disqualification and the vote itself in the CEC were politically motivated and therefore unacceptable. The EMHRN strongly urges the Israeli Supreme Court to uphold the democratic principles at stake in this case, and to overrule the disqualification of the NDA, Bishara and Tibi. It also urges the European Union and its Member States to clearly condemn the CEC decisions, which run counter to Israel’s commitments to the Barcelona Declaration and the EU-Israel Association Agreement. (1) It should be noted that even if these allegations were true, it is not a criminal offense upon which a candidate should be disqualified from running in the elections. Furthermore, discrimination on the basis of religion, race etc, runs counter to international human rights standards. (2) EMHRN member, Adalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, represented all of the Arab MKs and political parties before the CEC and filed an appeal against the disqualifications before the Supreme Court Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network Direct Phone +45 32 69 89 12 EMHRN Fax +45 32 69 89 01 E-mail: mfj@euromedrights.net Web: www.euromedrights.net |
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