A Jewish former police officer and self-described Zionist is set to take a seat in Israel’s parliament representing the Arab-led Islamist party Ra’am. Yoav Segalovitz left a centrist Jewish-led party to join the conservative Arab-led faction, which secured eight seats in Tuesday’s election.
The move has drawn both curiosity and condemnation across Israel. An inconclusive election leaves open the question of whether Arab-led parties will be embraced by opponents of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to help oust him from power.
Segalovitz said the purpose of his partnership with Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas was to demonstrate that Jews and Arabs can build political coalitions across racial and religious divides. He pointed to their differences in background while emphasising their shared status as citizens.
Arab-led parties won an unprecedented 18 seats in the 120-member Knesset. They could matters for forming a majority if the Jewish-led opposition is willing to cooperate.
During a celebration banquet hall event on Tuesday night, Segalovitz addressed supporters in Hebrew by declaring that everyone is Israeli. Right-wing critics attacked the move as a betrayal of Israel and a path toward Islamic law. Some within the left-wing Joint List dismissed the alliance as a branding exercise.
Netanyahu and his allies targeted Ra’am before, during, and after the election. Netanyahu’s party petitioned to disqualify Ra’am from running and warned that his main rival would partner with Abbas to secure a majority. Netanyahu’s party also spread unproven claims that the election was stolen by Arab-led parties.
Segalovitz responded to the political climate by writing on X that manifestations of incitement, racism, and exclusion threaten the resilience of the state. The partnership highlights an asymmetry in Israeli politics, where an Arab-led party welcomed a Jewish lawmaker, yet Jewish-led parties have balked at forming coalitions with Arab parties to remove Netanyahu.
Palestinian citizens who stayed in Israel after the 1948 war and their descendants make up more than 20 percent of the population. Many feel forsaken by authorities due to underinvestment, poverty, and marginalisation under Netanyahu’s term.
Segalovitz acknowledged disagreements with Abbas on issues such as mandatory military service and LGBTQ rights. He argued that showing an Arab-led party can embrace a Jewish politician from the political centre matters more than individual disputes.
Abbas told a jubilant crowd of supporters that a majority of Israelis voted against Netanyahu and his right-wing allies. He stated that hundreds of thousands of Arab and Jewish citizens proved cooperation is possible.
