Badge of honor for Israeli democracy
A panel of nine Supreme Court judges made the necessary decision on Sunday to permit Israeli Arab MK Hanin Zoabi to run in January's Knesset election. The judges did not explain their decision. This would have been unnecessary.
Initiatives to ban Zoabi from the Knesset are always popular. She has earned the suspicions against her. But it is not hard to imagine what would have happened if the Supreme Court judges had upheld the Central Election Committee's ban. How could it be explained to world that the Middle East's only democracy withheld Zoabi's basic right to run for the Knesset? If Jews convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude can be in the Knesset, why can't Arabs who criticize the country also serve as MKs?
The initiative to ban Zoabi may have helped some candidates in the Likud primaries, but it would have harmed Israel had it not been overturned.
The Zoabi case is not similar to that of former Israeli Arab MK Azmi Bishara. Bishara fled the country after a criminal investigation was opened against him on suspicion of spying for Hezbollah. In contrast, Zoabi is not suspected of having committed any criminal offenses, at least officially.
The decision by the panel of Supreme Court judges to overturn the ban on Zoabi was a badge of honor for Israeli democracy. The Likud party's reaction to the decision was emotional and harmful.
Zoabi's party, the National Democratic Assembly, threatened to boycott the election if she was banned from participating. This would have caused great damage to Israel. Israel has a supreme interest in its Arab citizens participating in elections.
This does not mean that Israel should be indifferent about ties between Israeli Arabs and terrorist organizations. A new and balanced law is needed that takes into account both freedom of speech and defense against terrorism. It should not be directed toward a specific MK. The process to formulate this law should start immediately once the next Knesset convenes.
Moreover, the Central Election Committee, comprised of politicians, should not be allowed to entangle Israel with populist decisions which cast shadows over the country that only the Supreme Court can save it from. The new law will prohibit ties with terror groups and any citizen who violates this law will face justice, including MKs.
If Zoabi was convicted under this law, a moral turpitude designation would be applied, meaning that she would be barred from serving in the following Knesset. This is the democratic way to oust parliamentarians, not punitive political measures.
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