Nissim Katz is an Israeli communications scholar, columnist and literary critic. He teaches at Kinneret Academic College and writes about media, politics and social change.
Case
Officials sought to bar the Balad leader over his October 2023 writing. His lawyers disputed the armed-struggle threshold, and Balad announced withdrawal after a Supreme Court warning.
Role at the time: Communications and politics scholar writing in Israel Hayom
Statement summary
Nissim Katz opposed Abu Shehadeh's exclusion, arguing that keeping his views in open political debate was better than pushing his supporters out of parliamentary politics. English translation: The attempt to exclude him from the political arena is a strategic error.
“הניסיון להדירו מהזירה הפוליטית הוא שגיאה אסטרטגית”
Relative to excluding Abu Shehadeh from the election, Katz rejects the ban as a strategic error. His criticism of Abu Shehadeh's rhetoric does not weaken that conclusion.
Statement dates: September 30, 2026
Statement dates: September 30, 2026
