Golan on support for disqualifying Abu Shahada: "We need to set red lines"

Yair Golan, chairman of the Democrats party, announced that his party would support the disqualification of Balad chairman Sami Abu Shahada. The decision followed internal party debates, during which MK Gilad Kariv opposed the move, arguing it would play into the hands of the right and harm Arab voter turnout. Golan clarified that red lines must be set for those who supported the October 7 massacre.

Yair Golan, chairman of the Democrats party, surprised many when he announced that his party would support the disqualification of Balad chairman Sami Abu Shahada. The decision was preceded by internal party debates. MK Gilad Kariv strongly opposed the move, telling Golan: "We must not support disqualification; it's playing into the hands of the right." Kariv warned that the disqualification could harm Arab voter turnout and the Democrats party in particular, contradicting the commitment to Jewish-Arab partnership. Golan responded: "In a democracy, we need to set red lines — I was at Nova and saw the bodies lying there, and whoever supported the October 7 massacre cannot be an elected official in Israel." Golan added: "Not everything is about narrow electoral considerations; his article is an identification with the massacre. Whoever expresses themselves like that the day after the massacre is not striving for Jewish-Arab partnership, but undermining it." Some within the party fear the decision will hurt the ability to attract Arab voters, a clear interest of the change bloc.