Israel's long-marginalized Arab minority is throwing around its newfound weight.
The Joint List of Arab parties, significantly strengthened by Israel's inconclusive Sept. 17 election, recommended Sunday that former military chief Benny Gantz form Israel's next government. Its backing could nudge President Reuven Rivlin to tap Gantz instead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose nationalist campaign preyed on anti-Arab sentiment.
That Israeli Arabs would recommend Gantz, whose Blue and White bloc counts three former generals and several staunch nationalists, is in itself remarkable. But recommending Gantz "will be the most significant step toward helping create the majority needed to prevent another term for Mr. Netanyahu," Joint List Chairman Ayman Odeh said in a New York Times opinion piece.