Sohlberg explains his vote to disqualify Abu Shehadeh
Noam SohlbergChair of the Central Elections Committee and deputy president of the Supreme Court
Sohlberg says Abu Shehadeh failed to answer the allegations against him and joins the committee vote to disqualify him on the armed-struggle ground. English translation: I found no satisfactory answer in his remarks.
“בדבריו לא מצאתי מענה שיכול להניח את הדעת”
Original text
Reporting
Reporting
Where this statement fits
The effort to disqualify Sami Abu Shehadeh from Israel's 2026 election
Israel's Central Elections Committee voted on September 23, 2026 to disqualify Balad leader Sami Abu Shehadeh from the October 27 Knesset election. The dispute centers on whether his writing about the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack meets the legal threshold for supporting armed struggle against Israel. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara supported disqualification. Abu Shehadeh and his lawyers at Adalah challenged the evidence and described the effort as an attack on Arab political representation. At an October 1 hearing, the Supreme Court indicated that a majority favored disqualification and recommended withdrawal, according to court reporting. Balad subsequently announced that its leadership had agreed to withdraw his candidacy while retaining him as party leader. We have not located a final judgment approving the disqualification or an order accepting a formal withdrawal.
Source and context
Original text
About this source
The written decision records the September 23 votes: 30-4 on the Jewish-and-democratic-state ground and 31-4 on the armed-struggle ground. It refers the individual-candidate disqualification to the Supreme Court for approval.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
About this source
The liveblog quotes Lazimi on Army Radio and Sohlberg explaining his committee vote.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
About this source
The report quotes Sohlberg explaining why he supported disqualification.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Sohlberg says he had intended to follow previous committee chairs by remaining neutral.
After the quotation
He explains that the evidence justified his unusual decision to vote. The written decision records his participation in the armed-struggle vote and refers the exclusion for Supreme Court approval.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Sohlberg endorses disqualification through both his stated reasoning and his committee vote.
- Recorded on
- Published here
More from this case
Read the full caseBalad objects to exclusion while announcing withdrawal
Balad
“استخدام الشطب أداةً لتضييق مساحة العمل السياسي العربي وملاحقة المواقف الوطنية الخارجة عن الإجماع الإسرائيلي.”Read statement
Odeh condemns pressure on Abu Shehadeh to withdraw
“פסילתו של חברי סמי אבו שחאדה היא הצעד הסופי בהפיכה המשטרית”Read statement
Cassif condemns the move to exclude Abu Shehadeh
“אני מאוד מאוכזב, וכעוס על ההחלטה לגבי חברי סאמי אבו שחאדה.”Read statement
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Sohlberg explains his vote to disqualify Abu Shehadeh
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/4383-sohlberg-says-abu-shehadeh-failed-to-answer-the
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Sohlberg explains his vote to disqualify Abu Shehadeh". First published: 2026-10-01. Last updated: 2026-10-01. https://disputeindex.com/events/4383-sohlberg-says-abu-shehadeh-failed-to-answer-the