Who is Yoav Segalovitz? Why a Jewish ex-cop joining Israel's Islamist party Ra’am could reshape its political divide

Yoav Segalovitz is a Jewish former police officer and self-described Zionist. He left a centrist Jewish-led party and joined Ra’am, a conservative Arab-led Islamist party. He is expected to enter the Knesset as part of Ra’am’s delegation.

The move matters because Jewish and Arab political parties rarely work so closely. Segalovitz and Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas present their partnership as cooperation between citizens with different identities. Segalovitz said that progress requires Jews and Arabs to work together as Israeli citizens.

The partnership has also exposed deep political tensions. At a Ra’am celebration, Segalovitz was the only politician who did not speak Arabic. He instead declared, “Kulanu Yisraelim!” meaning “We are all Israelis.” Critics on the Israeli right accused him of betraying Israel, while some Arab politicians called the alliance political branding. Its future influence depends on coalition negotiations.

Ra’am is a conservative Arab-led Islamist party in Israel. It is led by Mansour Abbas and won eight seats in the election. The party represents a different political tradition from Israel’s mainly Jewish-led parties, which have generally organized around Jewish political leadership and identities.

Its distinctiveness does not mean Ra’am rejects participation in Israeli politics. Abbas has argued that Jewish and Arab citizens can work together despite religious and ethnic differences. He has acknowledged Israel as a Jewish state and condemned Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack, although he has resisted formally calling Hamas a terrorist organisation.

Ra’am’s position gives it possible bargaining power. Arab-led parties won 19 seats together, but Jewish-led opposition parties have been reluctant to form coalitions with them. Ra’am therefore stands between community representation and wider coalition politics. Its role depends on whether other parties accept cooperation and its conditions.

Arab-led parties won a combined 19 seats in the 120-member Knesset. That is a substantial bloc in a legislature where governments need enough parliamentary support to govern. The figure gives Arab-led parties potential influence over negotiations after the election.

The mechanism is coalition arithmetic. If no Jewish-led group can govern alone, it must seek partners or outside support. Ra’am itself won eight seats, while other Arab-led parties held the remaining seats in the combined total. Those seats could help an opposition alliance reach the support needed to remove Benjamin Netanyahu from power.

The numbers do not guarantee influence. Several Jewish-led opposition parties have been reluctant to form a coalition with Arab-led parties. Gadi Eisenkot also set conditions for cooperation, including recognition of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state and opposition to Hamas. The 19 seats matter only if potential partners agree to work together.

If Jewish-led opposition parties cooperate with Ra’am and other Arab-led parties, they could assemble a parliamentary majority. That could allow them to form the next government and remove Benjamin Netanyahu from power. Arab-led parties would gain a direct role in shaping national policy rather than remaining outside governing coalitions.

The key mechanism is coalition bargaining. Arab-led parties won 19 seats together, while Ra’am won eight. Their support could become decisive if Jewish-led opposition parties lack enough seats on their own. In return, Arab-led parties could seek attention to issues affecting Arab communities and a meaningful place in government decisions.

The outcome remains uncertain. Several Jewish-led opposition parties have been reluctant to cooperate. Eisenkot set conditions, including recognition of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state and declaring Hamas a terrorist organisation to be dismantled. Abbas has met some demands but rejects formally applying that label to Hamas.

The alliance has drawn criticism because it crosses Israel’s usual religious and ethnic political boundaries. Right-wing Israeli critics object to a Jewish Zionist joining an Arab-led Islamist party. They accused Segalovitz of betraying Israel and warned that Ra’am’s influence could open the door to Islamic law.

Criticism also came from the Arab political spectrum. Some members of the left-wing Arab-led Joint List said the partnership was mainly a political branding exercise. In their view, it could make Ra’am more acceptable to mainstream Jewish-led parties without adequately addressing issues facing Arab communities.

Netanyahu and his allies repeatedly attacked Ra’am during the campaign. Likud was among those seeking to disqualify the party, while Netanyahu warned that his rival could cooperate with Abbas. Segalovitz answered by calling “incitement, racism, and exclusion” major threats to Israel’s strength. These disputes could complicate future coalition talks.

Ra’am’s participation in the 2021 governing coalition was a major precedent. The coalition lasted around 18 months. According to the article, it was the only time an Arab party had joined an Israeli governing coalition.

That precedent shows that Arab-led parties can move from opposition into government when coalition mathematics require their support. Ra’am’s participation also demonstrated that Jewish-led and Arab-led political forces could share responsibility for governing, despite major disagreements over identity, religion, security, and national policy.

The earlier experience does not guarantee a repeat. After the latest election, Arab-led parties again held potentially important numbers, but several Jewish-led opposition parties remained reluctant to cooperate. Abbas has acknowledged Israel as a Jewish state and condemned Hamas’s October 7 attack, yet he rejects formally calling Hamas a terrorist organisation. Those disagreements could block another coalition.

In Israel’s proportional parliamentary system, parties win Knesset seats according to their share of the vote. Governments need support from enough Knesset members to command a majority. This means a relatively small party can become important when larger parties cannot reach that threshold alone.

The mechanism is coalition bargaining. A party such as Ra’am does not need to win the most seats or nominate the prime minister. It can offer its seats to a larger bloc seeking to form a government. Ra’am won eight seats, while Arab-led parties won 19 together in the 120-member Knesset. Those votes could help an opposition alliance reach a majority.

The system creates influence, not guaranteed power. Potential partners may reject cooperation or impose conditions. Eisenkot demanded recognition of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state and a declaration that Hamas is a terrorist organisation. Abbas accepts some demands but rejects the formal label, leaving negotiations uncertain.