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Meretz, Yesh Atid and Labour have tabled a motion on the Central Elections Committee to ban Jewish Power candidates in the 9 April election.

The motion argues that the goals, actions and statements of Jewish Power constitute incitement to racism. The Central Elections Committee consists of representatives of all the political parties in the current Parliament in proportion to the seats they won in the last election and the Government coalition has a majority.

If the Committee vote to ban the candidates from standing in the election then they will be able to appeal to the Supreme Court to overturn the decision. In 2015 the Committee passed a motion to ban two candidates – Hanin Zoabi of Balad and Baruch Marzel of Yachad. Marzel was accused of incitement to racism and Zoabi for supporting Hamas. They both appealed to the Supreme Court who accepted their appeals and they both stood in the 2015 election.

Yesh Atid said it intended: “To do everything in its power to prevent the entry of Kahane’s followers into the Knesset”. Meretz welcomed the parties who joined the intitiative saying: “A terror organisation has no place in the Knesset”. Jewish Power said in response that: “The cat is out of the bag… Gantz is seeking to establish a government with the votes of the terrorists’ representatives in the Knesset and is winking at them when he joins the request for disqualification.”

Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman said of Jewish Power: “As far as I am concerned, they’re non-existent and if I meet them in the Knesset I won’t greet them. They are delusional and nothing more than that.”

New Right leader Naftali Bennett has criticised the merger of Jewish Home and Jewish Power but said he does not support the move to ban the party from standing in the election. He told Kan News: “There is a wide gap between my positions and those of Otzma Yehudit.  In my opinion Kahane’s people are not fit to sit in the Knesset.”