Yair Golan Calls for Unity Government with Arab Parties

Yair Golan, Chairman of the Democrats party, called on Wednesday for the formation of a "change government" in partnership with Arab citizens of Israel, asserting that the "change bloc" holds a majority of 65 Knesset members compared to 55. Speaking after the election results, Golan criticized the disqualification of Arab citizens' votes and challenged Benjamin Netanyahu's calculations, stating, "Netanyahu lost. I know how to count to 120. 65 is more than 55. That's how Israeli democracy works. Period."

Golan emphasized that Israel has no future if it doesn't cease its fear and racism, and must stop the "racist division" between Jewish and Arab votes. He equated the vote of an Arab citizen in Tayibe to that of an Israeli citizen in Givat Shmuel, asserting that anyone attempting to erase Arab votes is surrendering to Netanyahu and giving up on Israel.

He also addressed the issue of Zionism and the Haredi parties, pointing out that Netanyahu's bloc includes 16 Knesset members from non-Zionist Haredi parties who promote draft evasion while Israeli soldiers are fighting and dying. Golan argued that if Netanyahu insists on counting only a Zionist majority, he should first remove these 16 members from his bloc.

Golan presented his own seat calculation, stating the "change bloc" has a Zionist majority of 49 to 39 and an Israeli majority of 65 to 55. He concluded with a call to action, urging for courage and leadership to establish a "change government" in partnership with Arab citizens that will serve all Israelis, emphasizing, "We have a majority. We have a responsibility. And we have an opportunity... Now we need to stop being afraid and start acting. A change government now."

Knesset Member Vladimir Belyak, ranked 16th on the party list, expressed disappointment on X (formerly Twitter) that his efforts were not enough for election to the 26th Knesset, but wished his colleagues success and urged them to make brave decisions.