During every election season, Israel’s Knesset Central Elections Committee gathers to discuss the requests of the public or of political figures and factions to prevent particular candidates and parties from running. The reasons for disqualifying a candidate or party is typically based on extremist ideology, actions or remarks.

In the past, both Jewish and Arab candidates have been placed under the committee’s evaluation. Extreme far-right Jewish activists such as Baruch Marzel and Bentzi Gopstein were disqualified from participating in the 2015 and 2019 elections, respectively. Their disqualification was based on acts of racism against Arabs and other minorities in Israel. Former Member of Knesset (MK) Haneen Zoabi (Balad) was also disqualified from running in the 2015 election on the grounds that throughout her political career she had incited against the government and IDF soldiers, and that she categorically denies Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state.