Ra'am Leader Mansour Abbas and Yoav Segalovitz Meet to Finalize Political Alliance

Ra'am party chairman Mansour Abbas and former Knesset member Yoav Segalovitz met on August 26, 2026, to finalize the terms of Segalovitz's joining Ra'am's electoral list. The two are expected to announce their political partnership officially in the coming days. This meeting follows Abbas's recent interview where he described the negotiations as "midway" and expressed a positive outlook on the alliance.

Abbas emphasized that Segalovitz will join Ra'am as a Knesset member but will not become a party member, highlighting that this is a personal alliance rather than a full party merger. Abbas also addressed concerns about the party's legitimacy, stating that Ra'am already holds legitimacy from its participation in the government and that the alliance is not primarily about electoral or political legitimacy.

The significance of the partnership, according to Abbas, lies in its symbolic value of mutual recognition and social cohesion between different ideological views and communities. He compared the collaboration to two doctors working together for the benefit of a patient, underscoring the social and civic importance beyond politics.

Negotiations included conditions such as Segalovitz's freedom to vote independently on religion and state issues and assurances that Ra'am's internal constitution would remain unchanged. The meeting was initially scheduled earlier but was postponed. The upcoming joint statement will formalize the agreement ahead of Ra'am's party conference, which recently approved the party list and reserved spots for Abbas.