Ra’am leader Abbas announces former Yesh Atid lawmaker Segalovich will join Arab party slate

Ra’am is adding a Jewish former lawmaker to its election slate as the Arab party seeks to strengthen its coalition prospects. Party leader Mansour Abbas and former Yesh Atid MK Yoav Segalovich announced the move at a joint press conference.

Segalovich recently resigned from the Knesset and left Yesh Atid, the party led by opposition leader Yair Lapid. His move to Ra’am had been the subject of ongoing reports ahead of the October elections.

The decision gives Ra’am a candidate with experience in both law enforcement and parliamentary work. Segalovich previously headed Lahav 433, and during the Bennett-Lapid government he worked in the Knesset on combating violence in Arab society.

The inclusion of a Jewish candidate has been widely seen as an attempt to present Ra’am as a more viable coalition partner. The party joined the governing coalition in 2021, during the Naftali Bennett-Yair Lapid government, marking the first time an Arab party formally entered an Israeli governing coalition. That decision drew heavy criticism.

Ra’am wants to join a coalition again, but most opposition parties in the bloc seeking to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have ruled out forming a government with Arab parties. The story remains developing.