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Ra’am Leader Mansour Abbas and Former MK Yoav Segalovitz Confirm Talks on Knesset Run

evening · · thread: MK Yoav Segalovitz Resigns from Knesset and Yesh Atid Party

2 sources · Israel

Who reported this

  • The Times of Israel Israel · Centre · Seth Klarman (majority backer)
  • The Jerusalem Post Israel · Centre-right · Mirkaei Tikshoret (Eli Azur)

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Ra’am chairman Mansour Abbas and former Yesh Atid MK Yoav Segalovitz confirmed on Thursday that they are holding discussions regarding the possibility of Segalovitz joining the Ra’am slate for the upcoming Knesset elections on October 27. In a joint statement, the two described their meeting as being in a good and positive spirit and agreed to continue direct talks.

Segalovitz is a former senior police officer who established the Lahav 433 unit to fight serious crime and previously served as deputy minister for public security under the government of Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid. He recently announced his departure from the Yesh Atid party and submitted his resignation to Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana.

Analysts suggest that adding Segalovitz could increase Ra’am's viability as a coalition partner for opposition parties. One television poll indicated that his membership could increase the party's seat count from five to seven. Ra’am previously served in the Bennett and Lapid coalition, which was the first time an Arab party was a formal member of a governing coalition in Israel.

Ra’am has recently sought to shift its identity from its Islamist roots toward a broader civic identity. Abbas has stated that the party is open to Jewish candidates and has condemned the October 7 atrocities. However, the move has drawn sharp criticism from the far right. The Otzma Yehudit party accused Abbas of using the move to attempt to take control of the National Security Ministry and turn the Negev and Galilee into Islamic territory.

While some see this as a strategic move for coalition building, the framing of the event varies by political perspective. Center leaning coverage emphasizes Ra’am's effort to shed its religious image and expand its appeal to Jewish society. Center right leaning coverage highlights the continued rejection of Arab parties by most opposition blocs and focuses more heavily on the accusations from the far right regarding the security of the Jewish state.

How each side framed it

Centre
Framed the event as a strategic evolution of Ra’am toward a civic, broad based identity to increase political legitimacy.
Centre-right
Framed the event within the context of the opposition's reluctance to partner with Arab parties and the security concerns raised by the far right.

Sources

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