Ra’am announced Monday evening that former Deputy Public Security Minister Yoav Segalovich will join its Knesset slate, in a joint appearance with party chairman Mansour Abbas. Segalovich is expected to be placed second on the list, becoming the first Jewish candidate to run with the Islamist Arab party.
Ra’am officials stressed that the arrangement is a technical political alliance rather than full party membership. Segalovich will join Ra’am’s Knesset slate and parliamentary faction but will not become a member of the party itself, and no changes are planned to Ra’am’s constitution or internal decision-making mechanisms.
Under the understandings reached between Segalovich and Abbas, Segalovich is expected to retain freedom to vote independently on issues including religion and state, national security and LGBTQ rights. He is also expected to promote a framework for national-civilian service in Arab society. Ra’am, for its part, is not seeking the National Security Ministry for him, but rather a role overseeing the fight against crime and violence.
Abbas presented the move as a deliberate effort to turn Jewish-Arab political partnership into a practical governing strategy.
“To create change, you need a civic partnership. To create change, you need to see the other,” Abbas said. “Ra’am is not afraid of change, it advances it.”
He pointed to the previous government, when he and Segalovich worked closely on combating crime in Arab society, as proof that such cooperation can produce results.
“We worked with Segalovich every day to eradicate crime in Arab society,” Abbas said. “When we formed the Knesset list, we asked a simple question: Do we believe in partnership?”
Abbas also framed the coming election as a choice over whether Arab voters want Ra’am back inside the centers of government decision-making.
“We are standing today before an election, and the question before our public is clear: Do we return to the place where decisions are made, or do we return to the opposition benches?” he said. “Do we continue what we started, or start again from zero with those who never started at all?”
He said Ra’am intends to seek responsibility for the fight against violence and crime if it returns to government and wants Segalovich, who previously ran that effort alongside the party, at the center of it.
“Ra’am chose to return to government with the violence and crime portfolio, and chose to return with the man who managed that fight with us and proved himself in it, Yoav Segalovich,” Abbas said. “This is not an easy decision, and I am not presenting it as one. But it is a serious decision.”
Segalovich said his decision to join Ra’am came after considerable deliberation and was rooted in his belief that Jews and Arabs in Israel have a shared future despite deep political and historical divisions.
“There is a difficult history between Arabs and Jews in this country, but there is a shared future that exists in every area of life,” he said.
“What guides me is a Zionist, Jewish and values-based outlook. The Declaration of Independence is a compass, not just a text hanging on the wall.”
Segalovich said he believes political cooperation is possible even between people and parties with very different worldviews.
“I am not going to change Mansour or Ra’am, and they are not going to change me,” he said. “But political cooperation can be built on trust, recognition of differences and a commitment to joint action.”
(Photo: Avihu Shapira)
He also said he wants to challenge long-standing assumptions about the limits of political partnership in Israel.
“I explicitly want to break the paradigm of the boundaries and lines of discourse,” Segalovich said. “Yes, I also want to break the paradigm of how political partnership is created.”
He stressed that he is joining Ra’am personally rather than bringing another faction into an alliance.
“I am not joining Ra’am with a faction. I am personally joining Ra’am,” he said. “There will be those who say there is political weakness in that, but from my perspective there is much greater strength and power here.”
Segalovich also directly rejected the argument that Jewish-Arab political partnership became impossible after the October 7 attack.
“The common claim that after October 7 it is impossible to maintain political partnership with Arab parties is baseless and false,” he said.
He sharply criticized the current government, saying it had brought Israel to “unbearable places” in multiple areas. He highlighted rampant crime and deteriorating personal security, arguing that the damage is felt across society but especially among Arab citizens, whom he said the government has failed to adequately address.
Segalovich cited his experience working with Abbas in the previous government as evidence that practical cooperation can produce results. As deputy public security minister, he led the government campaign against crime in Arab society and coordinated the effort across several ministries. The program was canceled by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir after the current government took office.
He also pointed to broader problems in Arab society, including education, welfare, health, employment and transportation, particularly in the Negev, arguing that genuine political commitment is as important as policy plans themselves.
Lapid opposes the move
Abbas has held talks with Segalovich for several months and in recent days worked within Ra’am’s institutions to secure the agreement.
Since reports of the contacts first emerged, figures in the anti-Netanyahu camp have suggested the move is intended to create greater distance between Ra’am and the other Arab parties, potentially positioning it for a future role in a governing coalition.
Segalovich, 67, previously headed the Israel Police investigations division during a period that included high-profile investigations into senior public officials, among them former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. He later entered the Knesset with Yesh Atid and served as deputy public security minister in the previous government.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Monday morning that he opposed his former party colleague’s decision.
“I think Segalovich is making a mistake by joining Ra’am,” Lapid told Army Radio. “We had long conversations about this issue. But at least he is doing what he believes in, and I respect him for that.”