MK Oded Forer, chairman of the Yisrael Beiteinu faction, today (Monday) submitted to the Central Elections Committee a request to disqualify the candidacy of MK Ofer Kassif from the Joint List in the elections for the 26th Knesset.
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The request focuses primarily on Kassif's ongoing support for an armed struggle against the State of Israel. Among other things, Kassif stated that "there is no such thing as terrorism against soldiers," defined those who attack IDF soldiers as "guerilla fighters" and "freedom fighters," stated that Palestinians have the right to use armed means against the occupation, signed the petition that supported South Africa's lawsuit against Israel in The Hague, called on IDF soldiers to refuse orders during the war - and refused to define Hamas as a terrorist organization.
The request submitted by Forer emphasizes that these are not isolated statements or one-time expressions, but rather a consistent pattern that has continued over years.
During the 25th Knesset, Kassif was subject to four sanctions by the Ethics Committee, which amounted to a ten-month suspension from Knesset work. The Ethics Committee also determined that this was a "systematic and consistent pattern of action" and repeated violations.
The request also includes additional evidence of Kassif's positions regarding the nature of the State of Israel, including a call to repeal the Law of Return, explicit opposition to Zionism, and repeated comparisons of the State of Israel and Zionism to Nazi Germany.
At the center of the legal argument is the fact that the evidentiary foundation today is fundamentally different from that which was before the Supreme Court in 2019, when Kassif's disqualification was overturned.
While in 2019 it was mainly discussed in a number of newspaper articles, the current request is based on full interviews, Kassif’s direct tweets, speeches in the Knesset plenary, recordings, actions in the international arena, and official decisions of Knesset institutions. This is a broad, direct, and continuous body of evidence, which Forer argues establishes the "critical mass" required in a Supreme Court ruling.
MK Oded Forer: "In 2019, the court said that the evidence against Kassif was insufficient. Since then, Kassif has not changed his ways. He has only intensified them. Today, it is no longer possible to talk about a single statement taken out of context or a few isolated articles. There are years of statements, actions, and institutional decisions here that present a clear pattern.
""Kasif orchestrates attacks on IDF soldiers, calls them to refuse orders, calls those who fight them 'freedom fighters,' supports international proceedings against Israel, and most importantly refuses to recognize the legitimate boundaries of the political struggle.".
""Democracy must also protect freedom of expression, but it must not allow those who support the struggle against the state to use the Knesset as a platform for anti-state activity. In 2019, Kassif was given an opportunity. Since then, he has proven time and time again that the problem was not accidental expression. This is a course of action.""
