Just back from Israel and the redo elections. It was a dizzying week for all. If Avigdor Lieberman would give up his shenanigans, then a third election in January may not be necessary. He needs a big bear hug by the right. At the moment, the main victor in this election was the Joint List, whereupon the Arab party became Israel’s third-largest party. Truth be told, if this trend continues, the Arab party can garner over 20 Knesset seats in future elections since they represent 20% of the Israeli population. They are close to that now. Although the Joint List took more votes away from the left, it may just as well have taken seats away from the right as well. When the Arabs vote in droves, which is their Democratic right in Israel, they push the threshold for seats higher and higher, making it harder for the smaller parties to even pass the threshold. This has been a seismic shift in Israeli politics that will only get worse. The Joint List includes Ahmed Tibi, who is viciously anti-Israel. Mahmoud Abbas encouraged Israeli Arabs to vote in order to topple Benjamin Netanyahu. The media never gives Israel any credit for its truly Democratic way. The Arabs never took advantage of Israel’s democracy until recent times. They would always cut their nose to spite their face. Not anymore. This is the real take-home message of this election. This is the upheaval that Israel now faces.