Israel: New Knesset Sets Record For Most LGBT Members

Israel’s elections on Tuesday resulted in what will likely be a fifth term for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - but there were a number of firsts as well.

The number of LGBT members of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, will rise from two to a record five when parliamentarians are sworn in next month. Amir Ohana of the right-wing Likud and Itzik Shmuly from the left-wing Labor were re-elected, joining three new members from the centrist Blue and White party: Eitan Ginzburg, Idan Roll and Yorai Lahav Hertzanu. Ginzburg became the country’s first openly-gay mayor when he was elected to lead the Tel Aviv suburb of Ra’anana last year.

The Knesset will also see the first female Druze representative, former TV broadcaster Gadeer Mreeh, and the first female ultra-Orthodox representative, activist Omer Yankelevich, both from Blue and White.

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