Yesh Atid MK Yoav Segalovitz has told his colleagues that he will depart the party, following reports that he was discussing becoming the first Jewish member of Arab political party Ra’am, led by Mansour Abbas.
Segalovitz moving to Ra’am would mark a momentous occasion in Israeli political history and in Israeli Arab-Jewish relations, as the first Jewish Israeli to join the traditionally Islamist political party.
The move would also grant legitimacy to Ra’am, which Abbas is attempting to move away from its Islamist image towards a more civic offering, in order to broaden its appeal, both to voters and to a potential future coalition government.
Segalovitz commented: “I wish Yesh Atid and the Beyachad party great success, as they continue to act resolutely for the citizens of the State of Israel”.
Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, whose faction merged with Naftali Bennett’s supporters to form Beyachad, responded with his own statement, thanking Segalovitz for a decade of service dedicated to his party and described him as having “acted with integrity and professionalism for the benefit of Israel’s citizens and in order to maintain the rule of law”.
This latest announcement comes almost a week after Ynet revealed that Segalovitz was in talks with Abbas to join Ra’am.
Segalovitz has not yet confirmed the move, but he is also yet to deny the reports, which would catalyse a shift in Israeli electoral dynamics ahead of the upcoming October election.
Segalovitz, himself a former police officer who headed the Lahav 433 major crime and anti-corruption unit, has been lauded for his work helping to reduce crime rates in Arab-Israeli communities during his stint as deputy minister for public security in the previous Bennett-Lapid coalition government.
In recent years, murder rates within the community have significantly increased amid a bloody war between rival crime families.
Haaretz reported on Thursday that Abbas and Segalovitz are discussing positioning him as the number two candidate on the Ra’am list, and the party’s priority candidate to replace Itamar Ben-Gvir as national security minister in a potential future coalition government.
A poll released on Thursday conducted by Zman Yisrael suggested that a majority of voters for opposition parties would support including Ra’am in a future coalition government, should the Arab party introduce Segalovitz to its slate.
Amongst voters for current government coalition parties, 55 per cent would oppose the inclusion of Ra’am in a future coalition government, whilst only 11 per cent would support the move.
Overall, the poll found that 40 per cent of all voters would oppose the move, whilst 38 per cent would support it.
The poll, conducted on August 5 and 6, included 500 respondents, with a 4.4 per cent margin of error.
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