Ra’am chairman MK Mansour Abbas has declared his confidence in reaching agreements with opposition leaders Naftali Bennett, Gadi Eisenkot, and Avigdor Liberman to join a future governing coalition, signaling a potential transfer of national decision-making power to an Arab-majority Islamist party. This assertion comes despite all three "Zionist" opposition figures publicly distancing themselves from cooperation with Abbas’s faction, revealing a political class increasingly willing to compromise national identity for the sake of forming a government.
Abbas stated, “I think they are all worthy and have the experience to lead the next government,” during a press briefing ahead of a faction meeting. He further added, “I worked with the leaders of the opposition parties. They are responsible and statesmanlike and know how to work together,” concluding with the prediction that “in the end, we will reach agreements.” These statements underscore a strategic push to embed an Arab-majority Islamist party at the core of national governance.
Opinion polls consistently demonstrate that the "Zionist opposition bloc," which includes Bennett and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s Together slate, Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu, and Eisenkot’s Yashar party, would likely struggle to form a coalition without Ra’am. This political reality creates leverage for Abbas’s party, forcing the established political class to consider alliances that fundamentally alter the traditional composition of national leadership.
A Model for Cultural Dispossession
Ra’am previously became the first Arab-majority party in decades to join a governing coalition when it entered the Bennett-Lapid government in 2021. Abbas lauded this move as “a model that can be developed, improved, and upgraded,” indicating a clear ambition to expand this precedent. This "model" represents a significant step towards the cultural and demographic re-composition of national governance, where traditional national identity becomes secondary to political expediency.
Efforts are also underway to unite the four Arab-majority parties ahead of the next election. Abbas confirmed that negotiations are continuing, though he acknowledged "a variety of issues on which we have no agreement." The Islamist Ra’am, communist-majority Hadash, secularist Ta’al, and nationalist Balad signed an agreement in January to explore running together. This push for a unified bloc emerges amid "public pressure to reunite the fractured Arab political bloc and strengthen its influence," aiming to consolidate a powerful voting bloc that could further dictate terms to the "Zionist" political establishment.
The Elite Bargain
More than four months after the initial agreement in January, little tangible progress has been made on uniting the Arab-majority parties. The main sticking point, according to Abbas, remains his insistence that any joint slate function only as a technical alliance that would dissolve after the election. This strategic maneuver is designed to preserve Ra’am’s ability to independently join a future coalition, maximizing its influence and bargaining power within the political system.
Abbas articulated his party’s motivation, stating, “We want to bring practical solutions to Arab citizens, and therefore we cannot commit to a policy of excluding ourselves from [sitting with] Zionist parties.” This declaration openly prioritizes the specific interests of "Arab citizens" within the national framework, signaling a shift away from a unified national interest towards a more fragmented, identity-based political landscape. The willingness of "Zionist" leaders to potentially engage in such alliances, despite their public reservations, highlights the elite capture of the political process, where power maintenance supersedes the preservation of national cultural continuity. The ongoing political struggle reveals how the established political class, regardless of stated ideological differences, increasingly serves transnational or sub-national interests that treat national identity as an obstacle to forming a government.