Election panel rejects bid to disqualify Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party

By Ariela Karmel

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Ariela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a ceremony marking the establishment of the new Israeli settlement of Ma’ale Arugot in Gush Etzion, in the West Bank, September 2, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The Central Elections Committee votes 21-3 against disqualifying Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party, which is running on a joint slate with Moshe Feiglin’s Zehut, from participating in the October 27 election.

The petition, filed by the Zulat Institute for Equality and Human Rights, sought to bar the Religious Zionism-Zehut slate under provisions of Basic Law: The Knesset, a quasi-constitutional law prohibiting parties that negate Israel’s existence as a Jewish and democratic state or incite racism.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has said there is no legal basis for barring the slate from the election.

Three committee members voted in favor of the petition and 21 against, with no abstentions. The CEC is headed by a Supreme Court justice but is composed of representatives of Knesset factions, with the coalition holding a majority, making its decisions highly political.