After trying to dodge a hearing on his case by claiming he was injured, Sami Abu Shehadeh, chairman of the far-left Balad party, posted an update on his condition Tuesday. In his statement, the lawmaker accused opposition members of joining Ben-Gvir’s campaign against him and vowed he won’t be moved from his position. Abu Shehadeh continued to characterize the disqualification effort as racist.
Abu Shehadeh had filed an urgent request to postpone the hearing, claiming he was injured Tuesday morning.
“I thank everyone for their concern for my well-being and wishes for my health. I want to reassure both those who wish me well and the Kahanists alike: I am recovering and intend to continue the struggle for substantive democracy, freedom and equality with all my strength. No convict of incitement to terror, or any other racist, will move me from the path I’m walking toward a better reality.”
He added: “Unfortunately, some of the leaders of the ‘opposition’ have decided to cooperate with the illegitimate attempt to silence the Arab voice at the ballot box, by removing me as a public representative in the Knesset. I want to tell you: trying to be a pale imitation of the right didn’t help you before and won’t help you now. Those who claim to fight for democracy cannot support disqualifying the voice of the Arab minority.”