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United Arab List
הַרְשִׁימָה הַעֲרָבִית הַמְאוּחֶדֶת
القائمة العربية الموحدة
LeaderMansour Abbas
ChairmanMansour Abbas
Founded1996 (1996)
IdeologyIslamic democracy[4]
Conservatism[5]
Social conservatism[9]
Israeli-Arab citizens' interests[11]
Two-state solution[13]
National affiliationJoint List (2015–2019;
2020–2021)
Seats in Knesset
5 / 120
Election symbol
עם
ع‌م‎

[14]
Website
almwahda.com (archived)

The United Arab List (Hebrew: הַרְשִׁימָה הַעֲרָבִית הַמְאוּחֶדֶת, HaReshima HaAravit HaMe'uhedet; Arabic: القائمة العربية الموحدة, al-Qā'ima al-'Arabiyya al-Muwaḥḥada), commonly known by its Hebrew acronym Ra'am (Hebrew: רע"מ) is a conservative political party in Israel, whose main support base is the Bedouin communities[15] of the Negev. In 2021 it joined the thirty-sixth government. It is currently led by Mansour Abbas.[16]

Historically, it was an Islamist political party, and functioned as the political wing of the Southern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, which supported the Oslo I Accord and began participating in Israeli parliamentary elections).[17] It was part of the Joint List but left the alliance on 28 January 2021.

In December 2025, Ra'am distanced itself from its Islamist roots and announced its separation from the Islamic Movement, which was completed in July 2026. The party announced in January 2026 that it would allow Jewish candidates on its electoral list, in advance of the 2026 Israeli legislative election.

History

United Arab List election ballot, 2013

Establishment

The party was established prior to the 1996 election, unrelated to the original United Arab List that existed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was joined in an electoral alliance by the Arab Democratic Party (which held two seats in the outgoing parliament) and the southern faction of the Islamic Movement, led by Sheikh Abdullah Nimar Darwish.[18] The party initially went under the title of Mada-Ra'am, Mada being the acronym and common name for the Arab Democratic Party. In the election, the party won four seats. During the Knesset term, the Arab Democratic Party became a faction within the United Arab List, and its name was dropped from the party title.

Late 1990s-2010s

The 1999 election saw the party increase its share of the vote and pick up five seats. However, internal disagreements saw three MKs leave; Muhamad Kanan and Tawfik Khatib left and established the Arab National Party, whilst Hashem Mahameed formed the National Unity – National Progressive Alliance party. In the 2003 election, the party's support dropped by more than a third, with the party only just crossing the electoral threshold of 2%, and winning only two seats.

Ra'am logo
Logo used by the party before 2019

For the 2006 election, the party entered an alliance with Ahmad Tibi's Ta'al party. Running together, the alliance won four seats, three of which were taken by the United Arab List. The partys' alliance was maintained for the 2009 election, which initially saw the Israeli Central Elections Committee ban the party from participating,[19] but this was overturned by the Supreme Court of Israel.[20] In the election, the alliance again won four seats. Shortly before the 2013 election, Taleb el-Sana left the party to sit as an independent Arab Democratic Party member.

Joint List

After the electoral threshold to gain Knesset seats was raised from 2% to 3.25%, the party joined with Hadash, Balad, Ta'al, and the Islamic Movement to form the Joint List for the 2015 election.[21] For the April 2019 election, it ran on a list with Balad.[22] The party again ran as part of the Joint List in the 2020 election.[23] The alliance split in January 2021.[24]

Coalition government

In the 2021 elections the party won four seats in the Knesset.[25] Within the fragmented political landscape of Israel, these seats gave the party the role of kingmaker in determining the next government after Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form one.[26][27][28][29] On 2 June 2021, party leader Mansour Abbas signed an agreement to form a coalition government,[30] the first time an independent Arab party became a member of the Israeli government, and the first time in more than 50 years that any Arab party formed part of the Israeli government; a photograph of Abbas, sitting with Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett, signing the coalition agreement was widely circulated.[31][27] The agreement included guarantees that more than 53 billion shekels (US$16 billion) would be spent to improve infrastructure and reduce crime in Arab towns, provisions protecting homes built without permits in Arab villages, and recognition for Bedouin towns in the Negev desert.[16][32]

On 28 October 2021, the cabinet approved a plan to spend US$9.4 billion to improve employment opportunities and health services for Israeli Arabs and improve housing, technology, and infrastructure in Arab areas;[33][34] it included a further US$1 billion to address high crime rates in Arab areas.[33][35] In the scale of funding range of issues in the Arab community addressed, the plan had little precedent in Israeli history, and Abbas and Ra'am were widely credited with pushing forward what Abbas called a "historic step" forward for Arab Israelis.[29][34][36] The plan was signed into law when the budget passed on 4 November.[37]

At the United Arab List's urging the coalition government recognized several Bedouin villages and connected thousands of previously illegal homes to the electrical grid.[29][38][39]

Return to opposition

In the 2022 Knesset elections the party won five seats, gaining an additional seat. The party received most of its votes in Bedouin and Sunni Muslim towns.[40]

On 5 January 2026, party leader Abbas announced that the party would be open to all Israelis for membership and "aims to recruit Jewish politicians who share Ra'am's agenda" as the Arab community continues to struggle with high crime rates.[41]

The party is willing to work with "anti-Netanyahu parties", while that position is a nonstarter for other Arab parties, including Hadash and Balad.[42]

Abbas confirmed in August 2026 that talks were underway with former Yesh Atid MK Yoav Segalovitz, who served as the Deputy Minister of National Security during the Thirty-sixth government of Israel, to join the party.[43]

Ideology and support

Ra'am was an Islamist party[44][45][46][47] and was described in 2019 as a "religious Arab Muslim party".[48]

The party announced in December 2025 that it would separate from the Southern Islamic Movement,[49] which was finalized in July 2026.[50]

Under Abbas's direction, the party advocates for the full-fledged political involvement with the domestic politics of Israel in order to improve the quality of life of Arab Israelis, particularly with respect to crime, employment opportunities, housing, and infrastructure; this is a departure from other Arab parties, which historically form part of the opposition and focus on the larger Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[51][52][53][54][55]

The party supports the two-state solution, and the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital.[55] Its constituency consists mostly of religious or nationalist Israeli Arabs, and enjoys particular popularity among the Negev Bedouin: in the 2009 election, 80% of residents of Bedouin communities voted for the party.[56] However, it has been said[by whom?] that the party does "not emphasise the need to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories".[57]

The Islamic Movement also operates in poor Arab towns and villages, as well as in Bedouin settlements, to mobilize voters. The southern faction of the Islamic Movement has been the dominant force in the party, whilst other factions include the Arab National Party. The Islamic Movement's advisory religious body, known as the Majlis-ash-Shura (Shura Council), has guided the party's votes in parliament.[58]

According to The Times of Israel, the party and its leader Mansour Abbas hold a "virulently anti-gay outlook" and have "regularly disparaged gay people with an Arabic slur meaning 'perverts'".[59]

Election results

Election Leader Votes % Seats +/– Status
1996[a] Abdulmalik Dehamshe 89,514 2.93
2 / 120
 – Opposition
1999[a] 114,810 3.49
3 / 120
 Increase 1 Opposition
2003[a] 65,551 2.08
1 / 120
 Decrease 2 Opposition
2006[b] Ibrahim Sarsur 94,786 3.02
2 / 120
 Increase 1 Opposition
2009[b] 113,954 3.38
2 / 120
 Steady Opposition
2013[c] 138,450 3.65
3 / 120
 Increase 1 Opposition
2015 Masud Ghnaim with Joint List
4 / 120
 Increase 1 Opposition
Apr 2019[d] Mansour Abbas 143,666 3.31
2 / 120
 Decrease 2 Snap election
Sep 2019 with Joint List
3 / 120
 Increase 1 Snap election
2020 with Joint List
4 / 120
 Increase 1 Opposition
2021 167,064 3.79
4 / 120
 Steady Coalition
2022 193,916 4.07
5 / 120
 Increase 1 Opposition
2026
  1. 1 2 3 Ra'am–Mada alliance
  2. 1 2 Ra'am–Mada–Ta'al alliance
  3. ↑ Ra'am–Ta'al alliance
  4. ↑ Ra'am–Balad alliance

Knesset membership

Current Knesset members

Former Knesset members

See also

References

  1. ↑ Carol Migdalovitz (18 May 2015). "Israel: Background and Relations with the United States" (PDF). CRS Issue Brief for Congress. Congressional Research Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2003. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  2. ↑ Rubin, Barry (2012). Israel: An Introduction. Yale University Press. p. 219. ISBN 978-0300162301.
  3. ↑ Freedman, Robert O., ed. (2008). Contemporary Israel: Domestic Politics, Foreign Policy, and Security Challenges. Westview Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0813343853.
  4. ↑ [1][2][3]
  5. ↑ "Israel Elections: Likud remains largest party, no bloc wins - polls". Jerusalem Post. 6 February 2021.
  6. ↑ Ahlswede, Stefan (2009). Israel's European Policy After the Cold War. Nomos. p. 47.
  7. ↑ "Jewish homophobe says he is not opposed to Arab homophobes backing coalition". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 29 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  8. ↑ Rothwell, James (3 June 2021). "Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu poised for exit as opposition proclaims new coalition government". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 September 2022. In response, the socially conservative Ra'am party ...
  9. ↑ [6][7][8]
  10. ↑ https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/politi/2025-12-08/ty-article/.premium/0000019a-fa1c-d193-a1be-fbbd36a30000. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ↑ [10]
  12. ↑ "ארבע מפלגות ורשימה אחת: המדריך להבנת הרשימה המשותפת". 26 September 2019.
  13. ↑ [12]
  14. ↑ "הַרְשִׁימָה הַעֲרָבִית הַמְאוּחֶדֶת". Central Election Committee for the Knesset (in Hebrew). Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  15. ↑ Berman, Lazar (11 July 2026). "Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas says he won't join joint Arab list". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  16. 1 2 Ayyub, Rami (3 June 2021). "Arab Islamist helps clinch Israel's new anti-Netanyahu government". Reuters. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  17. ↑ Khader Sawaed (9 April 2019). "The Arab Minority in Israel and the Knesset Elections". The Washington Institute. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
  18. ↑ "'It's Possible to Do Things Differently.' The Arab Kingmaker Who Joined Israel's Far-Right to Oust Netanyahu". Time. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  19. ↑ "Israel bans Arab parties from running in upcoming elections". Haaretz. 12 January 2009. Archived from the original on 20 June 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  20. ↑ Sharon Roffe-Ofir (21 January 2009). "Hadash praises verdict on Arab parties". Ynetnews. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  21. ↑ Hazboun, Areej; Estrin, Daniel (28 January 2015). "As Arab MKs unite, a new political landscape emerges". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  22. ↑ "FULL LIST: The Parties and Candidates Running in Israel's Election". Haaretz. 20 February 2019. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  23. ↑ Rasgon, Adam (3 March 2020). "Headed for 15 seats, Joint List chief claims 'huge' success, cites Jewish voters". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  24. ↑ Staff writer; Aaron Boxerman (28 January 2021). "Knesset panel approves Joint List's breakup after talks with Ra'am faction fail". The Times of Israel.
  25. ↑ "Final Israeli election results confirm deadlock". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  26. ↑ Kershner, Isabel (2 June 2021). "The Arab party Raam makes history within coalition". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  27. 1 2 Boxerman, Aaron (2 June 2021). "History made as Arab Israeli Ra'am party joins Bennett-Lapid coalition". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  28. ↑ "Analysis | An Islamist party is part of Israel's new coalition government. How did that happen?". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  29. 1 2 3 "Arab leader's gamble to play kingmaker in Israel is paying off". NPR. Associated Press. 17 January 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  30. ↑ "Document signed by 8 parties in intended new government". The Times of Israel. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  31. ↑ Kingsley, Patrick; Rasgon, Adam (3 June 2021). "Fragile Israeli Coalition to Oust Netanyahu Faces Growing Pressure". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  32. ↑ Rasgon, Adam (10 June 2021). "A New Israeli Government Could Mean Help for Neglected Bedouin Villages". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  33. 1 2 "Israeli cabinet backs huge spending plan for Arab minority". BBC News. 25 October 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  34. 1 2 "Five-year Plan for Israel's Arab Community: $9 Billion Won't Bridge a Gap Decades in the Making". Haaretz. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  35. ↑ Boxerman, Aaron (24 October 2021). "Cabinet okays NIS 32 billion to develop Arab Israeli economy, fight crime". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  36. ↑ Boxerman, Aaron (8 October 2021). "As unprecedented billions planned for under-served Arabs, devil's in the details". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  37. ↑ Wootliff, Raoul; staff, T. O. I. (4 November 2021). "Coalition passes 2021 budget, first in 3.5 years, averting early election threat". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  38. ↑ Boxerman, Aaron (3 November 2021). "Government legalizes 3 unrecognized Bedouin towns, fulfilling Ra'am's pledge". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  39. ↑ "3 Bedouin villages to be recognized, receive infrastructure". The Jerusalem Post. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  40. ↑ "מפת הבחירות לכנסת ה-25". Kaplan Open Source.
  41. ↑ "Ra'am to open party to all Israelis, leader Abbas 'aims to recruits Jewish politicians'". The Jerusalem Post. 5 January 2026.
  42. ↑ "Palestinians could decide Israel's election. But their parties are at a stalemate". +972 Magazine. 24 July 2026. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  43. ↑ Sokol, Sam (13 August 2026). "Ra'am's Abbas, former Yesh Atid MK Segalovitz confirm ongoing talks on Knesset run". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
  44. ↑ Grossman, Guy; Manekin, Devorah (7 June 2021). "An Islamist party is part of Israel's new coalition government. How did that happen?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 24 January 2024. ... the Islamist Ra'am party.
  45. ↑ "Israel moves to resolve crisis after Bedouins protest". The Associated Press. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2024. ... the Islamist Ra'am party ...
  46. ↑ Strawson, John (30 March 2021). "Israeli election: Mansour Abbas emerges as possible first Arab kingmaker in nation's history". The Conversation. Retrieved 24 January 2024. Islamist Ra'am
  47. ↑ Kershner, Isabel (27 August 2022). "Lessons Learned, Israel's Unlikely Islamist Kingmaker Looks Ahead". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 January 2024. Mansour Abbas, the leader of a small Islamist party called Raam ...
  48. ↑ "Ra'am (United Arab List)". ecfr.eu. 27 January 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  49. ↑ "Ra'am leader says party will cut ties with religious council, become 'completely civic'". The Times of Israel. 7 December 2025. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
  50. ↑ Khoury, Jack (27 July 2026). "Abbas' UAL Breaks With Islamic Movement in Push to Expand Voter Base". Haaretz. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  51. ↑ Kingsley, Patrick (4 July 2021). "As Secular Peace Effort Stutters in Israel, Religious Mediators Hope to Step In". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  52. ↑ "The Arab-Israeli Power Broker in the Knesset". The New Yorker. 22 October 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  53. ↑ "Arab leader's gamble to play kingmaker in Israel is paying off". NPR. Associated Press. 17 January 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  54. ↑ "Why 1 Arab Party Joined Israel's Coalition Government But The Other Did Not". NPR. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  55. 1 2 "Can United Arab List change Israeli politics from within?". Al Jazeera English. 2 July 2021.
  56. ↑ "How They Voted: See Israel election results by city/sector". Haaretz. 17 February 2009. Archived from the original on 9 May 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  57. ↑ AlTaher, Nada (24 June 2021). "Ra'am: who are Israel's first Arab party in government?". The National (Abu Dhabi). Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  58. ↑ Ayyub, Rami (3 June 2021). "Arab Islamist helps clinch Israel's new anti-Netanyahu government". Reuters. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  59. ↑ Boxerman, Aaron (25 March 2021). "How Islamist Ra'am broke Arab politics and may win the keys to the government". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
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