A new party, Kulanu (“all of us” in Hebrew), formed by ex-Likud minister Moshe Kahlon—who made a name for himself by introducing competition into the cellphone market and sharply reducing monthly bills for Israelis—is campaigning solely on the cost-of-living issue. He has made fighting the bank and land monopolies his top priority, and while identified as a rightist, he has left open the possibility of joining a government led by the Zionist Union.

Another new party that could upset the usual electoral calculations and is currently polling as the third largest is the Joint List—or, as many Israelis have been referring to it, “the Arabs.” It is an alliance between four parties—three Arab and one Arab-Jewish—formed against all odds and expectations just days before the deadline for submitting candidates in January. The merger between Islamist Ra’am, nationalist Balad, progressive Arab-Jewish Hadash and secular Ta’al, a first in Israeli history, was prompted by last year’s passing of the Governance Bill, which raised the threshold a party needs to enter the Knesset from 2 percent (three seats) to 3.25 percent (four seats). The law, co-sponsored by Yisrael Beiteinu’s Avigdor Lieberman—who champions the “transfer” of the Israeli Arab population and whose most recent campaign promise is to behead Palestinian citizens of Israel suspected of terror—was largely seen as a way to eliminate Arab Knesset members.

The Joint List’s campaign slogan is “My answer to racism,” and its leader, Ayman Odeh, a member of the Hadash Party, insisted at a press conference in Tel Aviv last month that the reason behind the merger was not only to make the higher threshold, but the long-overdue need to combat racism, discrimination and physical attacks against the Arab minority in Israel, who comprise 20 percent of the population. Specifically, Odeh mentioned the need to be a strong legislative actor inside the Knesset to combat the Jewish Nation-State bill, which seeks to codify into law the state’s definition as belonging solely to its Jewish citizens, forgoing any explicit commitment to equality. Currently polling between thirteen and fifteen seats, the Joint List, which dubs itself the “democratic camp,” is the only party directly addressing the crisis in Arab-Jewish relations. However, it is likely that following this election, the parties, which represent a highly diverse and divided Arab society, will fall apart.

Even if the Likud doesn’t garner the most Knesset seats, Netanyahu still appears to be the candidate most likely to build a ruling coalition in post-election negotiations, since more of the other parties—among them the ultra-Orthodox Shas and hyper-nationalist Jewish Home—will recommend him over Herzog. This was the case in 2009, when Tzipi Livni’s Kadima Party won the election, but after she failed to form a coalition consisting of at least 60 out of the 120 Knesset seats, the premiership went to Netanyahu.

This picture could change if the Zionist Union invites the Joint List to join the ruling coalition—something that has never been done in Israeli history—and assuming they agree. Both Herzog and Netanyahu insist they will not enter a national unity government, since they represent opposing ideological camps. But if they do, the Joint List would then lead the opposition. That means the prime minister would have to provide Odeh with regular briefings, even on such sensitive national security matters like going to war—an interesting scenario. Whatever happens, the fact that Israeli news broadcasts have been forced to discuss the Arab sector as part of the Israeli political landscape is already a game changer.