A Jewish ex-cop and self-described Zionist might seem an unlikely candidate to represent an Islamist party in Israel’s parliament.

But Yoav Segalovitz will soon be seated in the Knesset as a member of Ra’am, an Arab-led party that won eight seats in Tuesday's election.

His decision to leave a centrist Jewis h-led party and join a conservative Arab-led one has drawn curiosity and condemnation in Israel, where a key question after an inconclusive election is whether Arab-led parties will be embraced by other opponents of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to help oust him from power.

Segalovitz says the purpose of his partnership with Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas was to show that Jews and Arabs can build political coalitions across racial and religious divides.

“He’s Arab. I’m a Jew. I’m secular. He’s religious," he said of Abbas. "But we’re all citizens of Israel. We all take part in this society.…