Zini Reverses Ronen Bar's Recommendation — Baruch Marzel Cleared to Run in Elections
The head of the Shin Bet has canceled his predecessor's recommendation to disqualify the new party of the far-right activist and Michael Ben-Ari. The decision was made despite Bar's warning regarding extremist ideology.
After the head of the Shin Bet, David Zini, recommended canceling the recommendation of his predecessor, Ronen Bar, to disqualify the new party of Baruch Marzel and Michael Ben-Ari, the Registrar of Parties announced today (Tuesday) that he is lifting the disqualification and approving the party's registration.
This decision comes despite the warning from the outgoing head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, who stated that the party promotes a terrorist ideology and continues the path of Meir Kahane's "Kach" movement.
The debate over the disqualification or approval of the party has been at the center of legal and political discourse for years. In the past, during the elections for the 22nd Knesset, the Supreme Court upheld an appeal regarding candidates from "Otzma Yehudit," ruling that Baruch Marzel and Bentzi Gopstein were ineligible to run due to incitement to racism. The ruling was based on findings that determined Marzel's social media statements constituted incitement to racism.
Marzel himself has been arrested multiple times and holds a criminal conviction related to his affiliation with extremist movements. Many years ago, he served as the secretary of the "Kach" faction in the Knesset.
