Israeli security chief softens stance, allowing controversial right-wing party to contest elections

Israel’s Shin Bet security service has reversed its earlier position on a far-right political party, clearing the way for it to register and compete in elections. The party, known as “Complete and Strong Jewish Israel,” had previously been barred from participating after the security service raised concerns about its ideology and connections. The shift came after David Zini, the current Shin Bet chief, issued a revised assessment that significantly softened language used in an earlier evaluation by his predecessor, Ronen Bar.

In the original security assessment, Bar had concluded that the party represented a continuation of a banned extremist organisation. However, Zini’s new opinion takes a markedly different approach, characterizing the party as merely having “affiliation” with the organisation rather than being its direct successor. This technical distinction has substantial legal implications for the party’s eligibility to stand in elections.

The change in the security service’s position removes a major legal obstacle that had previously prevented the party from registering with Israel’s election commission. Political parties in Israel can be barred from running if they are deemed to incite racism or support terrorism, or if they are found to be continuations of organisations that have been dissolved on such grounds. The revised assessment suggests the security establishment no longer believes this threshold has been met in this case.

The decision reflects broader tensions within Israel over how strictly to apply restrictions on far-right political movements. It comes amid ongoing debates about the boundaries of acceptable political speech and organisation in Israeli democracy, particularly regarding parties with ideologies critics say promote exclusionary or discriminatory views.

Source: Ynet — Original article in Hebrew.