Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
2006, it won eleven seats, nine of which came from FSU immigrant-sector votes. The number
of seats grew, in 2009, to fi fteen, making it the third-largest party after Kadima and Likud, and
it joined the government coalition.
The party has attracted many votes from beyond the FSU immigrant sector, and some be-
lieve that it should no longer be considered an ethnic party because of its broader appeal. It
is also, in effect, the largest personal party in Israel's history, given Lieberman's unchallenged
leadership.
Banning Political Parties
There are few limits on who can run for Knesset. According to the 1985 Basic Law on the Knes-
set, it is illegal for any party denying the existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state to
run. Thus any party seeking to turn Israel into a binational, Islamist, or Arab state or to create
a Jewish theocracy can be banned. This regulation has not been enforced against Arab parties
by the courts despite accusations that they do have as their goal a binational, Islamist, or Arab
nationalist state.
It is also illegal for parties to espouse a racist message. The Supreme Court subsequently
ruled that this law, too, was applicable only in extreme cases. Further, for a party to be banned,
the offensive message must be central to the party's platform, and it must be proven that the
party is actually trying to implement the racist position. The Basic Law was amended in 2002
to include party support for terrorist activity as grounds for disqualifi cation.
The law was originally passed as a reaction to the extreme right-wing Kach Party, based on
the Jewish Defense League, which advocated the deportation of Israel's Arabs as part of its 1984
platform. The Central Elections Committee banned the party, claiming that it stood against
the state's democratic values. The Supreme Court overturned the ban, and Kach won one seat
in 1984. An amendment to the Basic Law was subsequently passed, and, in 1988, the Central
Elections Committee again disqualifi ed Kach. This time, the Supreme Court upheld the deci-
sion, ruling that Kach was a racist party that violated the law.
The issue came up again regarding the Progressive List for Peace (PLP), the fi rst indepen-
dent Arab party, in 1992. In that case, the Supreme Court found that the PLP did not violate
the law, and the party was permitted to run. Then, in 2003, the Central Elections Committee
invoked the later amendment to ban Balad because of statements made by MK Azmi Bishara
supporting Hizballah and rejecting Israel's existence as a Jewish and democratic state. Never-
theless, the Supreme Court again overturned the ban, arguing that while Bishara's statements
did qualify as support for a terrorist organization, it was not proven that he supported “armed
struggle,” so the demands of democracy and free speech permitted him to run. In 2009, Balad,
together with the United Arab List -Ta'al, was again banned by the Central Elections Commit-
tee; the Supreme Court permitted both to run.
VOTING TRENDS AND POLITICAL ACTIVITIES
Voting in Israel is taken very seriously. The minimum voting age is eighteen, and every citizen
over this age has the right to vote. Election Day is a national holiday, and voters are reimbursed
for transportation to get to their polling places. Israeli citizens residing or traveling abroad
