Aziz Abu Sarah, 38, who is a Palestinian in occupied East Jerusalem is suing the Israeli government in hopes of becoming the first Palestinian to run for mayor in Israel’s municipal elections in Jerusalem next month.
He announced his intention to run for mayor last week, though Israeli law prohibits Palestinians in East Jerusalem from running for the post of mayor because they are not considered Israeli citizens.
Now the 38-year-old man has decided to sue the Israeli government in Israel’s High Court over the law. ‘Even though we (Palestinians) are 40 per cent of the population in Jerusalem, and we are not allowed to run for the most important seat in the city, and then Israel claims to be a democracy,” he said.
If he succeeds in the High Court, then “I hope to win the seat of mayor, if I lose, then we’re calling a bluff on Israel’s claims of being a democracy, whether I win or fail, the goal is to stir the water and to start a conversation,” he added.
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