The sectarian unrest between Arabs and Jews that swept across Israeli cities in May 2021 helped end Benjamin Netanyahu’s last term in office. Seventeen months later, fallout from that same unrest has helped put him back in power – at the head of one of the most right-wing coalitions Israel has ever known.

Last year’s riots, in places such as Lod, a central city with a mixed Arab and Jewish population, helped nudge Naftali Bennett – a onetime ally of Netanyahu – towards breaking ranks. Bennett ran on the promise of trying to heal Israel’s sectarian divides, and he formed a rival coalition with centrist, leftist and Arab lawmakers that ousted Netanyahu from office in June 2021.