Meet Ra'am's lineup: Who’s who in the 26th Knesset
Who’s who in the Ra'am list? Meet the people behind the names, explore their backgrounds, and discover their paths to the 26th Knesset
Israel’s 26th Knesset is set to be sworn in on Tuesday, bringing 120 new and returning members of Knesset into the chamber after October’s election. It is a class that mixes political heavyweights with first-time parliamentarians: 47 of the incoming MKs have never served in the Knesset before, while 55 were not members of the outgoing parliament.
The incoming Knesset reflects an unusually broad cross-section of Israeli public life. Alongside longtime party leaders and former ministers, it includes business figures, religious educators, community activists, former security officials and newcomers from across the country’s political and social spectrum.
Thirty-three of the 120 MKs are women, and the class ranges from veteran politicians returning to the Knesset after years away to first-timers who won a seat on their first national run. Among the returnees is Eli Goldschmidt, who left the Knesset 25 years ago as a Labor MK and is now returning as a Likud representative.
Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud remains the largest single party, with 27 seats, followed by Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar with 21 and Naftali Bennett’s Beyachad with 12. The Joint List won 11 seats, while The Democrats and Ra’am each took eight; Yisrael Beiteinu, United Torah Judaism and Otzma Yehudit won seven apiece, and Shas and Religious Zionism six each.
The arithmetic leaves no bloc with a majority: Netanyahu’s right-religious bloc holds 53 seats, Eisenkot’s opposition bloc 48, and Arab-led parties the remaining 19, making the incoming Knesset one of the most fragmented in recent memory. Gadi Eisenkot was awarded the first mandate by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, and now has just under a month to form a government out of the aforementioned parties.
Founded in 1996 with roots in the southern branch of Israel’s Islamic Movement, Ra’am, the United Arab List, has carved a distinct path in Arab politics. In 2021, it became the first independent Arab party to formally join an Israeli governing coalition, opening a new chapter in the debate over representation and influence. In this installment of our Knesset profile series, we meet the people behind the party- their backgrounds, their priorities and their visions for Israel’s future.
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Mansour Abbas — No. 1
Mansour Abbas began his career as a dentist, graduating from the Hebrew University, where he also became active in student politics and was twice elected to lead the Arab Students’ Committee. Alongside dentistry, he studied Islam with Sheikh Abdullah Nimer Darwish.
He joined Ra’am’s leadership early, serving as secretary-general from 2007 and becoming deputy to the head of the Islamic Movement’s Southern Branch in 2010. He helped shape a more moderate wasati Islamic charter for the movement and was elected Ra’am chairman in 2018.
Elected to the Knesset in 2019, Abbas led Ra’am’s decision to run separately from the Joint List in 2021, opening the door to coalition participation. He also led Ra’am as it became the first Arab party to be part of a governing coalition in 2021. He was a minister without portfolio during the short-lived government, becoming the first Arab-Israeli Muslim to hold a ministerial position.
Born in 1974 and raised in Maghar in the Galilee, Abbas still lives there and is married to high school English teacher Yakoot, with whom he has three children. He also serves as an imam in a mosque near Tiberias.
Yoav Segalovitz — No. 2
Yoav Segalovitz built his career in law enforcement. After serving as an intelligence officer in the Paratroopers Brigade, he studied law at Tel Aviv University and joined the Israel Police, rising from prosecutor to commander of Kfar Saba police station.
In 2002 he was appointed commander of the Eilat region, then left to establish the National Economic Crime Unit, rising to brigadier general. He later created Lahav 433, the police’s elite investigations command, and led major corruption probes including the Holyland case involving Ehud Olmert.
He entered the Knesset in 2019 with Yesh Atid and served until 2026, when he was placed second on Ra’am’s list, becoming the first Jew to represent the party. As part of the agreement to join the Ra’am slate, Segalovitz does not have to vote along the party whip.
Born in Tel Aviv in 1959, Segalovitz still lives there and is married with three children.
Walid Taha — No. 3
Walid Taha began his career in education, working as an educator and director of the Al-Huda network of kindergartens and schools in Ramla. He was active in the Islamic Movement, heading its Kafr Qasim branch and serving on the local Shura Council. He also sat on Kafr Qasim’s municipal council, directed its education department and belonged to the city’s Popular Committee.
He won the Ra’am party’s Southern Branch representation ahead of the 2019 election. He entered the Knesset that year, later chairing the Interior Committee after Said al-Harumi’s death.
Born in Petah Tikva in 1968, Taha lives in Kafr Qasim with his wife and three children. He holds degrees in political science, history and security studies.
Waleed Alhwashla — No. 4
Waleed Alhwashla began his career as a football referee, working within the Israel Football Association from 2000 to 2013, including in the Israeli Premier League.
He entered political life in 2017, winning a seat on the Al-Kasom Regional Council’s plenary. He later served as adviser to MK Said al-Harumi and then as director and spokesperson of the Ra’am faction during the Netanyahu–Gantz government period. Considered close to Mansour Abbas, he is seen as the senior Bedouin representative on Ra’am’s list. In 2024 he called for restoring the Joint List format with all Arab parties running together.
Born in 1981, Alhwashla lives in Sa’wa in the Negev. He holds a bachelor’s in Middle East studies and a master’s in political science from the University of Haifa.
Iman Khatib-Yassin — No. 5
Iman Khatib-Yassin built her career in social work and community leadership. She established a centre for girls in distress in Nazareth and managed it for nine years, focusing on vulnerable young women and families. She also worked in employment support, helping establish and operate 21 employment-guidance centres across the country. She is a certified bookkeeper and completed a conflict-mediation course through Coventry University in England.
She entered the Knesset with Ra’am in 2020 and served on the Economics Committee and the Coronavirus Committee. She became the first hijab-wearer to become an MK.
Khatib-Yassin has bachelor's degree in social work at the University of Haifa and a master's degree in women's affairs at Tel Aviv University. She lives in Nazareth and has four children.
Yasir Hujeirat — No. 6
Yasir Hujeirat is a geneticist and public activist.He has worked in various molecular and genetics capacities, including roles at MyHeritage, Ziv Medical Center, HaEmek Hospital, Carmel Medical Center, and as CEO of Alfanar Ltd.
He holds a bachelors in biology, a masters in biochemistry, and a PhD in genetics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, followed by post-doctoral research in cancer genetics at the Technion and the Imperial Cancer Research Centre in England.
He served as the mayor of the local council of Bir al-Maksur and has been a member of the Knesset since 2022.
Ibrahim al-Turi — No. 7
Ibrahim al-Turi is a pharmacist and entreprewho studied at university in Jordan, helped establish pharmacies before entering politics with the United Arab List in 2009. He later supported the running of campaigns at both local and national level.
He is married with six children, and lives in Rahat.
Abd al-Karim Masri — No. 8
Abd al-Karim Masri spent many years in education as a teacher and principal, including at a high school in his hometown of Kafr Qara in central Israel. He previously played football for Hapoel Kafr Qara and later coached the team. Masri has also served as a mosque imam and as a marriage official in a sharia court.
In the 2022 election he was placed sixth on Ra’am’s list, narrowly missing out on Knesset representation.
He is married with five children, and lives in Kafr Qara.
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