Abbas-Seglovitz Partnership Continues Despite Jewish State Remarks

Mansour Abbas, chairman of Ra'am (the United Arab List), and former Knesset member Yoav Seglovitz released a joint statement to the public on Wednesday addressing their ongoing political discussions.

According to the announcement, the two leaders met again Wednesday to discuss Seglovitz potentially joining Ra'am's electoral list in upcoming elections. They emphasized that their talks focused on "the importance of this move for the benefit of all citizens of the State of Israel and the fabric of Jewish-Arab relations, in light of many challenges and the need to present a worthy political alternative to the citizens of the state, Jews and Arabs alike." The statement concluded that Abbas and Seglovitz will continue advancing the initiative in coming days as "a civic, values-based and necessary connection."

The joint statement followed a political storm that erupted earlier in the day after Abbas characterized Israel's Jewish character as an imposed reality rather than a choice made by the Arab public.

"The Jewishness of the state is an existing situation that was imposed on us and not something we chose. This is the choice of the Jewish majority and not our demand," Abbas stated.

The Ra'am chairman also addressed how Arab political parties relate to Israel's definition as a Jewish state, arguing that they have been compelled to accept this reality on practical grounds, partly due to the threat of disqualification from electoral participation.

"The Arab parties were forced to accept this practically, because otherwise they could be disqualified from running in elections to the Knesset and local authorities," he said. Despite these controversial remarks, Seglovitz decided to continue negotiations with Abbas regarding their potential political partnership.