Mansour Abbas: The Pragmatic Gamble of Israeli Arab Politics

Mansour Abbas, born in 1974 in Maghar, Galilee, into a Muslim Arab family, trained as a dentist before entering politics with the southern branch of the Israeli Islamic Movement, the precursor to the Raam party. He became leader of Raam in 2018 and a Knesset member in 2019. Abbas has distinguished himself from other Israeli Arab leaders through a pragmatic approach, prioritizing the use of his community's electoral power to secure budgets, improve infrastructure, and combat crime in Arab cities, rather than maintaining permanent opposition. In 2021, he broke with the Joint List and made an unprecedented move by bringing Raam into the coalition led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, marking the first time an independent Arab party joined an Israeli governing coalition. This alliance, which included parties with differing views, helped oust Benjamin Netanyahu from power, but drew criticism from some Arab voters who felt it legitimized Israeli policies in the West Bank, and from the right, concerned about Islamist influence on national decisions. Abbas defends his strategy, believing participation in power yields more than protest. He supports the creation of a Palestinian state and opposes settlement expansion. Following the October 7, 2023 attacks, he condemned violence against civilians and called for an end to the Gaza war, while maintaining his commitment to Jewish-Arab political cooperation despite strained relations. In August 2026, Abbas again surprised by placing Yoav Segalovitz, a former centrist Yesh Atid lawmaker and police official known for fighting organized crime in Arab society, second on his list. This unusual alliance with a Zionist Jew aims to broaden Raam's appeal and facilitate its return to a coalition, though it deepens divisions with other Arab parties who accuse him of compromising with Zionist factions. As the October 27, 2026 elections approach, Abbas aims to be a kingmaker again. However, some opposition leaders refuse to govern with Raam, even if they seek to unseat Netanyahu. Projected to win around five seats, Raam could hold the balance of power, but Abbas's main challenge is proving his pragmatism delivers tangible results.