Executive director of the Rabbis for Human Rights organization, Avi Dabush, announced on Thursday that he will run for a spot on the Democrats Party slate ahead of the party’s upcoming primaries.
The left-wing Democrats Party is composed of the Labor and Meretz parties, which merged in 2024. Dabush is expected to run for one of the reserved Meretz slots on the party’s list.
Dabush has led anti-government protests in the Negev and is a resident of Kibbutz Nirim in southern Israel, near the Gaza border. He heads a periphery-focused initiative alongside MK Naama Lazimi from the Democrats.
During the October 7 attacks, Dabush said that he and his family spent more than 30 hours in their safe room and in shelters in Kibbutz Nirim. He was evacuated from his home for nearly two years before returning to the kibbutz this past August.
Regarding running in the primaries, Dabush said he saw “up close what happens when a government chooses Kahanism and Jewish terror over real peace.”
“This is not only a moral problem, but it is a strategy that costs lives,’ he said. “Israel’s geographic and social peripheries are my home.”
“I lived for 18 years in the Gaza border region, worked with Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and I know there is another way.”
“Without a political shift, we are doomed to the continued destruction of Israeli society. That is why I decided to enter the political arena and present my candidacy,” he added.
Rabbis for Human Rights describes itself as a Jewish voice that advocates for human rights. Its work is divided into four main departments: the Territories Department, which calls for a protective presence for Palestinian farmers; the Social Justice Department; the Education Department; and the Interfaith Department.
Dabush has served as the organization’s executive director since 2019 and was ordained as a rabbi in Israel in 2024.
Judicial, hostage-protest movement members to join Democrats party
Democrats leader Yair Golan announced in January that several figures from the judicial and hostage-protest movements would join the party.
Among those confirmed were Moshe Radman, Moran Michel, Danny Elgarat, Hadas Ragolsky, Gaby Lasky, Ami Dror, Lee Hoffman, Kati Piasecki, Rotem Sivan, and Tomer Avital.
Social activist and reservist Omri Ronen also announced in February that he would join the Democrats Party ahead of the upcoming elections
Ronen is a leader of the Brothers and Sisters in Arms organization, who participated in protests against the government’s judicial reform.
During the October 7 attacks, Ronen fought in Kibbutz Nir Oz and later served over 350 days of reserves in the country’s war against Hamas.