On March 23, 64% of eligible Israeli voters selected representatives from 13 parties to sit in the 24th Knesset. Like all previous elections, no party gained a 61seat majority forcing the creation of a coalition government. Incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party while gaining 30 seats in the 120 member parliament was not able to cobble together another right-wing coalition as he had done since 2009. Yesh Atid a centrist Party led by Yair Lapid, gained the second largest number of seats, 17. He fashioned what was termed the “Change Block” from eight diverse parties, including for the first time in Israel’s history, an Arab political party in the ruling coalition. Lapid led the coalition talks, allowing Naftali Bennett, head of the Yamina Party to be prime minister in a leadership rotation agreement. Central to the Change Block’s outlook was keeping Netanyahu from being Prime Minister again. Some 29 women were elected as were six members of the far right Religious Zionism Party. The new parliament was sworn in on April 6, while the governing coalition took office on June 13.