Yesh Atid Criticizes Mansour Abbas Talks With Yoav Segalovich Over Ra'am List

Amid reports of negotiations between Mansour Abbas, chairman of the Ra'am party, and Knesset member Yoav Segalovich from the Together party about Segalovich joining Ra'am's list, sources in Yesh Atid have condemned the move as a mistake. They emphasized that Segalovich is an experienced politician who will decide independently whether to continue his political career within Together, join Ra'am, or even leave politics altogether. Yesh Atid stressed that such a decision will not affect their own plans for forming a government.

Yesh Atid officials highlighted that, like former politicians Boaz Toporovsky and Ron Katz who left, Segalovich is considering his future, which could include staying with Together, joining Ra'am, or receiving a secured spot with the Democrats party. They reiterated that their coalition-building strategy requires "61 Zionist votes" and warned that if Segalovich joins Ra'am, which could increase Ra'am's seats from four to five while reducing the Democrats' representation, it would hinder reaching that threshold.

The talks between Abbas and Segalovich resurfaced after Abbas mentioned in a radio interview six months ago that Segalovich would be an ideal candidate for Ra'am's upcoming election list. However, last week Ra'am downplayed the enthusiasm, stating the party is currently focused on its primary elections scheduled for August 22. Ra'am clarified that only after these primaries will they consider adding independent candidates to their list. These primaries will be held separately from the Islamic Movement conference and without Shura Council oversight.

Currently, Segalovich's office, while he is abroad, maintains that he remains a member of the Together party. The political context involves opposition parties to Netanyahu demanding a coalition with 61 Zionist votes, which they see as incompatible with Ra'am's participation unless the party changes its stance.