Haneen is in. UNANIMOUS DECISION -- ALL 9 justices with us!!

Israel's Supreme Court Rules Unanimously: The attempt to block Haneen Zoabi from running for the Knesset is NOT approved.

Haneen Zoabi

From Rina Jabreen (Rosenberg), International Advocacy Director

Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel

Haifa and Beer el-Sabe

 

We got a UNANIMOUS decision today!! All 9 justices with us for the first time! In 2003, 7 to 4; in 2009, 8 to 1; and in 2012, 9 to 0!!

Here is a quick English translation [part of] of the decision:

 

Following the hearing held on 27.12.2012, it was decided unanimously not to approve the decision of the Central Elections Committee of the Knesset from 19.12.2012 to prevent Haneen Zoabi to be nominated in the elections for the 19th [Knesset]. This means that MK Zoabi will be eligible to run  in the next Knesset elections.

 

Following the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling of all nine justices to overturn the disqualification decision, Adalah’s General Director, Attorney Hassan Jabareen, who is the legal representative of MK Haneen Zoabi, stated, “The fact that the repeated attempts to disqualify Arab MKs and political parties made over the last 15 years have had no legal basis, as the Israeli Supreme Court has consistently ruled, indicates that the aim of the right-wing is to de-legitimize the elected Arab leadership in Israel.

 

The case of Haneen Zoabi differs from the others in that an attempt was made to de-humanize her and to attack her personally as a woman. She was also branded as a terrorist simply for participating in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, which was a legitimate political act, and even though she has not been indicted for any crime. By contrast, some right-wing members of Knesset have been indicted for serious crimes and have even served time in prison, and yet there has been no attempt to expel them from the parliament. We welcome the Supreme Court’s decision today, which exposes the Central Elections Committee’s decision as racist and unjust.