It was only a matter of time before someone along Israel's political spectrum demanded that the Central Election Committee disqualify candidates from running in the April 9 elections for the 21st Knesset. Who would get there first? The left, seeking to disqualify right-wing candidates, or would representatives of the right beat them to the punch, demanding the disqualification of candidates representing the country’s 21% Arab minority? Either way, the outcome would stand to be a foregone conclusion. Barring a shocking decision, the Supreme Court will overrule any election committee disqualifications.

Lawmakers from the left-wing Meretz and the center-left Labor Party were the first to the committee’s door, demanding that it bar Michael Ben Ari and Itamar Ben Gvir of the radical-right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) from running as part of the Union of Right-Wing Parties. Their petition, delivered Feb. 26, cites reports by human rights organizations that the two men have engaged in incitement to racism, one of three legal grounds for disqualification.

The following day, the Likud petitioned the committee to demand that the Arab Ra’am-Balad’s representatives be prohibited from running. At the same time, Ben Ari and Ben Gvir sought the disqualification of two other Arab parties, Hadash and Ta’al. Their petition cited the two other grounds for banning Knesset candidates: negation of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state and support for armed struggle against Israel.

In an opinion submitted to the election committee, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit stated that he supported banning Ben Ari but opposed disqualifying Ben Gvir and the Arab slates. As expected, both the right and left expressed disappointment with Mandelblit’s position and turned him into the punching bag de jour in the volatile arenas of Israeli politics and the media.