1. Eleven parties will comprise the new Knesset (parliament). They have all been represented in the Knesset previously.
2. In the next seven days, leaders of all the parties will present to President Shimon Peres their recommendation for prime minister.
3. If Kadima (which won with 28 seats out of 120) is chosen, they will have 28 days to build a coalition. If they succeed, Tzipi Livni will be the next prime minister.
4. If Kadima can’t build a coalition, Likud (with 27 seats) will have another 28 days to build a coalition. If they succeed, Binyamim Netanyahu will be named prime minister.
5. This Knesset will include 21 women, more than ever before.
6. This Knesset will include 13 Arab members.
7. The veterans party, Gil, that held seven seats in the 17th Knesset didn’t win even one seat in the 18th Knesset.
8. This Knesset will include 28 Orthodox Jews (fewer than the 34 who served in the 17th Knesset).
9. Three members of this Knesset served as chief-of-staff, commander-in-chief of the Israel Defense Forces (one in Kadima, one in Likud and one in Labor).
10. Among members of this Knesset are three professors.
Rakefet Ginsberg is Israel emissary and director of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s Israel Center.
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