Israeli politics might just break one of its greatest taboos

There's a new kingmaker in Israel — and he's an Arab

Mansour Abbas.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Getty Images, iStock)

A year and a half ago, after Israel's election yielded a stalemate, it looked like the real winner of the election was neither Likud nor the opposition alliance, but the Yisrael Beiteinu ("Israel Our Home") party, headed by former Netanyahu protege Avigdor Lieberman. It was he who had forced the election, his party that gained seats, and his party that offered the only plausible path forward via a national unity government brokered by him.

Such a government didn't come to pass, and Israel has been unable to break the stalemate created by Netanyahu's divisive leadership since. Now, two elections later, a new kingmaker has arisen in Israel — and he is unlike any the country has seen before.

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Noah Millman

Noah Millman is a screenwriter and filmmaker, a political columnist and a critic. From 2012 through 2017 he was a senior editor and featured blogger at The American Conservative. His work has also appeared in The New York Times Book Review, Politico, USA Today, The New Republic, The Weekly Standard, Foreign Policy, Modern Age, First Things, and the Jewish Review of Books, among other publications. Noah lives in Brooklyn with his wife and son.