The political camp seeking to replace Benjamin Netanyahu — Eisenkot, Lapid, Bennett, the Democrats, and Yisrael Beytenu — has no majority without Arab Knesset members. They know it, and we know it. And that is even before we consider Yoav Segalovich’s likely move to Ra’am, which, it seems, could bring the party to seven or even eight seats. In plain English, Ra’am’s bargaining power could be unprecedented for an Arab party in Israel.

That is precisely why Mansour Abbas should demand a strategic partnership built on more than budgets, five-year plans, and improvements in the standard of living of Arab citizens.

In recent years, Abbas has brought about a revolution in Israeli politics. To break the longstanding taboo against partnership with an Arab party, he had to convince the Jewish public that Ra’am was not seeking to challenge the very legitimacy of the state, but to become a partner in governing it. He deliberately chose to focus on personal security, the fight against crime, housing, infrastructure, and budgets, while distancing himself as much as possible from the national issues — the occupation, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the collective rights of Arab........

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