Israel election: Raam fields first Jewish candidate

Raam is fielding its first Jewish candidate in Israel's October 27 general election after Yoav Segalovitz, a former police officer and former lawmaker, joined the Arab party's ticket.

Segalovitz, who previously served in parliament with the centrist Yesh Atid party, said he wanted to build a political partnership between Israel's Jewish and Arab communities.

“If we want life here to be good, we need to break down walls, not reinforce them,” he said in an interview at his home in Tel Aviv.

Segalovitz served as deputy minister for public security in the 2021-2022 government, where he worked on violent crime in Arab communities. He said personal security in Arab society was a catastrophe.

The Abraham Initiatives watchdog has tallied 172 Arabs murdered this year. Segalovitz said killings had risen after current National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir scrapped his programme.

Raam, led by Mansour Abbas, became the first Arab party to join an Israeli government when it entered the 2021-2022 coalition. Segalovitz said he saw Raam as the only Arab party seeking to influence policy from within the Israeli establishment.

Polls cited in the item suggest Raam could win four to six seats in the 120-member Knesset, potentially making it important in efforts by the opposition to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.