Ra’am’s Jewish candidate implies he won’t put anti-Bibi bloc over the hump if rest of party not on board

Yoav Segalovitz, the number two candidate on Ra’am’s electoral list, implies he will not be the 61st vote for a new, opposition-based coalition without the rest of the Islamist party’s lawmakers voting for it.

Asked during an interview with Channel 12 whether he would serve as the “61st vote” for a government in this manner, Segalovitch initially evades the question, saying that such an eventuality hasn’t yet transpired.

Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas interjects, however, saying “He won’t do this, I’m telling you he won’t do this,” before being asked how he could be sure.

“Because he knows me,” replies Segalovitz.

“On the values level, Mansour knows me, and I know him. If I was not sure about this man — I trust him, his heart, his motivations, his perspective. I would never do this if I didn’t think I had a partner,” Segalovitz insists.

Leaders of opposition parties, including Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman and B’Yachad leader Naftali Bennett, have said they will not form a government that is dependent on Ra’am, citing difficulties from the government Bennett led from 2021-2022.

Channel 12’s question was predicated upon a potential scenario after the upcoming elections in which opposition parties get 60 seats in the Knesset without Ra’am and then seek to persuade Segalovitz to be the 61st MK, giving them a majority in Knesset.

Both Abbas and Segalovitz also say in the interview that they didn’t consult with Bennett or Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot about their Jewish-Arab political partnership and whether Segalovitz, formerly of Yesh Atid, should have joined Ra’am.

“Throughout the years I always believed in partnership despite the difficulties,” says Abbas.

“I believe in this path, and I believe with or without Yoav that we’ll succeed in being partners to replace this government,” he continues, adding, however, that bringing Segalovitz into the Ra’am faction “helps [with this goal], no doubt.”