Israel proves once again that it is the only real democracy in the Middle East.
Two Israeli female MKs. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
Israel is the only true all-inclusive democracy in the Middle East. All citizens can voice their opinions and influence leadership through a transparent, orderly process, and any suitable candidate can run for the Knesset (Israeli parliament) regardless of gender or nationality, as seen in the results of the last elections.
Israel’s 20th Knesset, which will be led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party, will see a change in its composition in comparison with the outgoing Knesset, as more women and minority representatives will be included.
The incoming Knesset broke its record for female parliamentarians, with 28 female Members of Knesset (MKs), as opposed to 27 in the outgoing Knesset, both in right-wing and left-wing parties. The only parties that do not include women are the ultra-Orthodox parties.
The number of Arab MKs leaped from 12 to 17, in part because the Arab parties ran in a joint list in these elections as opposed to separate lists in the past, and also because the right-wing Likud and the left-wing Zionist Union each added an Arab MK to their ranks.
The Likud party reserved its 24th spot for a representative of the non-Jewish sector, and it was filled by Ayoub Kara, a member of the Druze minority community.
The number of religious MKs, including religious Zionists and ultra-Orthodox, dropped from 39 to 28.
Only 10 of the 25 political parties passed the minimal threshold of 4 seats in the Knesset, with some 180,000 votes – 4.4 percent of the cast ballots – going to waste.
In total, the incoming Knesset will welcome 41 new MKs.
By: Aryeh Savir
Staff Writer, United with Israel