Minister Strock Accuses Ra'am of Seeking to Undermine Israel's Jewish Character

Minister Orit Strock launched a sharp attack on the Ra'am party and its leader, Mansour Abbas, accusing them of working to change the Jewish character of Israel through political means. Strock's statements come amid the "Ra'amgate" affair, which involves suspicions of election bribery and potential involvement of Qatar and Turkey.

Strock asserted that Ra'am is the political wing of the Islamic Movement in Israel, which she described as a sister movement to Hamas. She claimed that Ra'am aims to achieve its goals through political and parliamentary tools, rather than armed struggle, characterizing their agenda as "civil jihad", an attempt to conquer Israel from within using political and governmental power, exploiting Israeli democracy.

She further alleged that Abbas's statements in Arabic reveal the party's true intentions, citing shared photos of him with senior Hamas official Ra'azi Hamed as evidence of ideological ties. Strock called for a thorough investigation into the "Ra'amgate" allegations, particularly concerning the possibility of foreign funding from Qatar and Turkey, which she linked to global Islamic terrorism.

Strock urged Knesset members not to rely on Ra'am for coalition building, stating that Abbas and his party are unfit to be part of any Israeli government. She also called for preventing Ra'am from participating in future Knesset elections, emphasizing that Zionist parties should resolve their differences democratically without enabling "enemies" to use democracy to conquer the country from within.

The article notes that Strock's claims are her interpretations and allegations, not proven findings. It also mentions Ra'ad Salah, head of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement, which was outlawed, contrasting him with Abbas's Southern Branch.