Yoav Segalovitz

A native of Tel Aviv, Segalovitz served as an officer in the Paratroopers Reconnaissance Unit.[5] After his military service, he volunteered for a year in an avocado orchard at Kibbutz Dan before beginning law studies in Tel Aviv alongside fellow former soldier Yohanan Danino.[5] Danino encouraged him to join the Civil Guard, and both later completed their legal internships as police prosecutors.[5]

In 2008, Segalovitz oversaw the creation of Lahav 433 and became its first commander.[6] The unit consolidated national fraud investigations, international crime investigations, financial crime investigations, stolen-vehicle investigations, and undercover policing in Arab areas, earning the nickname “the Israeli FBI.”[6] He also established the Economic Crime Unit and rose to the senior police rank of nitzav.[2] From 2009 to 2013, he headed the Israel Police Investigations and Intelligence Division.[1]

His investigative responsibilities included cases involving former prime minister Ehud Olmert, former president Moshe Katsav, Avigdor Lieberman, Tzachi Hanegbi, Avraham Hirchson, and municipal officials.[5][2] He led the Holyland investigation and recommended an indictment against Lieberman.[5] His police career also brought him the Knight of Quality Government award.[5]

Segalovitz later recalled a consequential episode in the Katsav investigation in April 2008, when he was heading Lahav 433.[5] He had come to court to testify in the Hanegbi political-appointments case when Katsav appeared at the same courthouse and declined to proceed with a plea agreement; the case subsequently led to an indictment for rape and Katsav’s conviction.[5] Segalovitz also recalled initially opposing a proposed face-to-face confrontation between Katsav and a complainant, but conducting it after senior legal officials persuaded him to do so.[5]

After retiring from the police, Segalovitz joined Yesh Atid in 2016.[2] At the announcement, he said recent events reinforced his decision and described politics as a circus detached from basic fairness, integrity, and simple truth.[2] He said he wanted to advance the fight against corruption and contribute to change in security, social, and economic affairs.[2]

In a 2017 interview, Segalovitz linked his entry into politics to concern about the country’s direction.[5] He described law enforcement as an element of national security and advocated professional, fair enforcement, strong courts, and effective institutional watchdogs.[5] His stated priorities included a police station in every city, implementation of road-safety decisions, and greater support for youth investigators and social workers assisting at-risk young people and young offenders.[5] He first entered the Knesset with Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party and was listed eleventh on its 2021 election slate for the 24th Knesset.[1][7]

During Israel’s 36th government, Segalovitz served as deputy public security minister, with responsibility for leading the response to crime in Arab communities.[1] His proposals combined expanded investigative capacity with financial enforcement and measures directed at illegal weapons.[8] In a 2021 interview, he called for tax investigations into money laundering connected with criminal rackets, functioning public-security camera networks in Arab towns, and increased penalties for illegal weapons possession.[8] He also advocated expanded employment and national-service opportunities for young Arabs.[8]

In October 2021, the government approved a work plan he presented for coordinated action against crime and violence in Arab society.[9] The participating bodies included the police, Shin Bet, National Security Council, Attorney General’s office, State Prosecutor’s office, Tax Authority, and the authority responsible for preventing money laundering.[9] The plan called for focused action against illegal weapons, assistance from the IDF and Shin Bet, and additional enforcement legislation advanced by the Justice Ministry.[9] Prime Minister Naftali Bennett designated Segalovitz as the government’s project coordinator for addressing crime and violence in Arab society.[9]

Segalovitz’s approach included the program Maslul Batuach, or Safe Track.[10] In September 2022, he explained that the response required coordinated action by state authorities rather than police work alone, bringing the prosecution, police, and Tax Authority into a single government effort.[10] He identified the black market, fictitious invoices, and local-authority tender processes as economic drivers of crime requiring attention.[10] On the possible involvement of the Shin Bet, he said assistance could be considered where legally permitted, while emphasizing that it was not a “magic bullet” and that criminal convictions required evidence.[8]

At an April 2022 meeting of the Knesset Public Security Committee, Segalovitz reported 42 murders in Arab society during the preceding five months, compared with 56 in the corresponding period a year earlier.[11] He said authorities had identified 631 suspects in criminal activity, arrested 166, and secured indictments against 144.[11] He also reported increased confiscations of illegal weapons.[11]

During 2022, the coordinated effort involved the National Police, National Security Council, Tax Authority, Money Laundering Authority, and relevant ministries, particularly the Justice and Internal Security ministries.[3] Segalovitz led the effort with support from the prime minister and security cabinet, alongside renewed momentum for the second five-year plan for Arab society, No. 549, and cooperation with Arab community representatives.[3] One annual homicide series recorded 106 victims in Arab society in 2022, describing this as a 16 percent decline from 2021 and the first annual decrease after several years of increases.[3] The same series gave earlier totals of 74 in 2018, 94 in 2019, 100 in 2020, and 115 in 2021.[3]

In August 2026, Segalovitz announced his departure from Yesh Atid and resigned from the Knesset.[1][12] He said he had informed Lapid before reaching an agreement with another political framework and considered it inappropriate to retain a parliamentary mandate received as a Yesh Atid representative while exploring his next steps.[1] His statement thanked Lapid and his fellow party members for their partnership and work together.[1]

Ra’am subsequently announced that Segalovitz would occupy second place on its electoral list, behind Mansour Abbas.[13] The arrangement was described as a technical association with the electoral list and parliamentary faction rather than membership in the party, and it did not change Ra’am’s constitution or decision-making procedures.[13] He became the first Jewish candidate on the party’s ticket.[13] Segalovitz presented the move as an effort to make Jewish-Arab political cooperation possible and to address crime in Arab society.[12]

Explaining the partnership, he said: “Our goal is to influence what happens in the country. We want to break down the walls and the right-wing paradigm, and bring an end to this toxic and dangerous discourse.”[12] He also described the partnership as rooted in a shared Israeli identity despite differences between himself and Ra’am.[4] His broader advocacy of Jewish-Arab cooperation extended beyond law enforcement to health services, education, and national service.[14]

During an October 2026 campaign visit to Rahat, gunfire sounded nearby while Segalovitz was speaking with residents.[15] He paused, looked toward the sound, and continued speaking.[15] Afterward, he said gunfire had nearly become routine in the city and called the situation a “serious failure by the government.”[15] He told his audience that change would not happen in a day, but that the state and government would work differently.[15]

In the October 27, 2026 election, Ra’am received 337,253 votes, representing 5.93 percent of the total, and won eight seats.[16] Segalovitz was elected from second place on the list and was scheduled to be sworn in with the other Ra’am lawmakers on November 10.[16] Describing the purpose of his partnership with Abbas after the election, he said: “If we want to get progress here, we must go in partnership together.”[17]

Segalovitz’s institutional contributions include the creation of Lahav 433 and the Economic Crime Unit.[5][2] He later led the police’s Investigations and Intelligence Division from 2009 to 2013.[1] In government, his Safe Track program brought financial enforcement, prosecution, and policing together in a response to crime that also addressed economic activity surrounding criminal organizations.[10]

His partnership with Mansour Abbas carried his advocacy of Jewish-Arab cooperation into a joint electoral framework.[13] Segalovitz described that undertaking as an attempt to build a “lasting Jewish-Arab political bridge,” linking his emphasis on shared Israeli identity with practical cooperation across communal differences.[4]

Segalovitz’s decision to join Ra’am’s electoral list became a subject of public debate about Jewish-Arab political partnership.[13] Describing himself as secular and liberal, he acknowledged disagreements with Ra’am on social questions, including LGBTQ rights.[12] He said he would try to persuade the party on those issues but would “go my own way” if unsuccessful, and stated that there would be no party discipline on that question.[12] He wanted Ra’am to enter a change-oriented coalition and said he would not join a coalition agreement between Ra’am and Likud.[12]

Assessments of his crime-reduction record also require a distinction between the reported decline in killings and explanations for it: the homicide figures presented alongside the 2022 coordinated enforcement effort do not establish that his leadership caused the decline.[3] The numerical series also differ in scope or totals: the annual series giving 106 victims in 2022 listed 115 in 2021, while a separate contemporary account cited 125 Arabs killed through violence and crime in 2021.[3][11]