{
  "id": 11426458,
  "title": "Supreme Court allows Ofer Cassif, Ra'am, Joint List to run in 26th Knesset election",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/supreme-court-allows-ofer-cassif-raam-joint-list-to-run-in-26th",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-02T11:38:53.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Jerusalem Post",
    "slug": "jerusalem-post",
    "url": "https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-910410"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Supreme Court has ruled that MK Ofer Cassif and the Joint List are allowed to participate in the upcoming 26th Knesset election, overturning decisions by the Central Elections Committee to disqualify them. The ruling came after four parallel cases were brought before the court, one addressing the disqualification of individual candidates Cassif and Sami Abu Shehadeh, and another addressing appeals from the United Arab List (Ra'am) and the Joint List against their disqualification.\n\nCassif was disqualified due to his denial of the State of Israel's Jewish and democratic nature and support for armed struggle against an enemy state or terrorist organization. However, the court, by a 7-2 majority, found that his actions did not meet the high bar for disqualification according to established legal precedents. Two dissenting justices disagreed, arguing that Cassif's statements and conduct warranted disqualification.\n\nThe court unanimously upheld the appeals of Ra'am and the Joint List, stating the evidence against them did not meet stringent criteria for disqualifying entire political lists. Sami Abu Shehadeh, the chairman of Balad and the Joint List, announced his withdrawal from the election following the hearing. The justices expressed strong disapproval of Abu Shehadeh's remarks, describing them as \"painful, outrageous, and nauseating.\" Despite this, the court's decision surprised many, as they were expected to uphold Ra'am's and the Joint List's disqualification based on the advanced stage of the proceedings.",
  "summary": "The court overturned Central Elections Committee decisions disqualifying MK Ofer Cassif, Ra'am and the Joint List, while Sami Abu Shehadeh withdrew his candidacy during proceedings.",
  "key_points": [
    "Supreme Court allows Ofer Cassif and Ra am to run in 26th Knesset election",
    "Cassif disqualified for denying Israel's Jewish and democratic nature",
    "Ra am and Joint List disqualification overturned by 7-2 majority"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": "https://urgent.news/ill/11426458.png",
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Indian Express",
        "title": "Supreme Court cancels meeting with Parliament panel on simultaneous polls",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/supreme-court-cancels-meeting-with-parliament-panel-on-simultaneous",
        "published": "2026-10-02T08:46:44.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Arutz Sheva - Israel National News",
        "title": "Supreme Court overturns disqualification of Ofer Cassif from running in elections",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/supreme-court-overturns-disqualification-of-ofer-cassif-from-running",
        "published": "2026-10-02T10:01:07.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}