On December 29, 2022, the 37th Government of the State of Israel was formed in the aftermath of the November 2022 election. With this new government, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest serving premier, is once again Israel’s PM, for the third time.

There is no doubt that this new government is the most right-wing government in Israel’s history, and there has been no shortage of articles and think-pieces written about how this new government may change the face of Israel. The bloc consists of six parties: Likud, Religious Zionist Party, Shas, United Torah Judaism, Otzma Yehudit, and Noam. Together, they sit in 64 of the Knesset’s 120 seats. Aside from Bibi Netanyahu being a divisive figure in Israel, there are other individuals who have left those in Israel and outside of Israel wondering what direction Israel as a country will take in the coming years. In particular, three of those figures include: Betzalel Smotrich, the leader of the Religious Zionist Party who will now be the Minister of Finance, who has a history of anti-Arab and anti-LGBT positions; Itamar Ben Gvir, the leader of Otzma Yehudit, who will now be the Minister of National Security, who has himself been arrested several times, and who holds radically anti-Arab views; and Avigdor Maoz, the leader of the Noam Party, who will now head an office in charge of Israel’s “Jewish national identity” and will oversee certain functions of the Education Ministry, who also has a history of anti-LGBT positions.

These are just three of the 64 members of the majority bloc, and as they take their seats alongside a robust opposition of the other 56 seats, and with MKs both old and new, experienced and less-so, Jewish and Muslim, they remain ministers of the democratic country of Israel. Indeed, the reason for their being in a position of power today in Israel is because of the robust democratic system in Israel, which saw a high voter turnout of over 70% of eligible voters in November. To-date, and for many of them, including the most controversial MKs, their words speak louder than their actions, but as members of the new governing coalition, their actions will now have an opportunity to speak louder than their words. Under PM Netanyahu, they have been given an opportunity to determine the way forward for Israel, at a time when the country faces ongoing challenges to its economy, cost of living, and security both from Palestinian terror organizations, but also from Iran and its proxies. This new government, as with all democracies, is being given a turn to show whether they will govern in the best interests of its citizens, no matter who they are or where they live in the country, to push Israel to become the best version of itself. Of course, only time will tell.

Though the characterization of this new government as extremely right-wing has left many worried, it is important to heed the promises and actions that the government will make. Approximately 20% of Israel’s population is Arab, and that population of almost 2 million is represented in government, and will have their voice heard. Israel has a large LGBT community, the largest in the Middle East, and despite concerns about certain MKs and their views vis-a-vis LGBT rights, the new speaker of the Knesset is a member of the LGBT community (Amir Ohana), and their voices will also be heard. From its very inception, Israel has been a country made up of people from different backgrounds. Sephardi, Ashkenzai, Mizrahi, Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Circassian, old-world, new-world, capitalist, socialist, English, French, Yiddish, Germany, Arabic, Ladino, french-fries-in falafel versus no-that’s-disgusting: this year the country will celebrate its 75th year of that diversity.

To that end, we will reserve judgment on the new government until we see its work in action. In the meantime, we stand staunchly behind the only democracy in the Middle East.