Israel to rise threshold to Knesset to 2.5%

[M]

Yisra'el B'aliyah merged with Likud, which now has a combined total of 40 seats. (Where did you get 39?) One Arab party also had 2 seats, perhaps you counded the Arabs as one party (combined total of 8?)

[M]

http://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/eng/mkindex_current_eng.asp?view=1

MKs by faction, in English.

[M]

Chadash, the Marxist party, is seen as an Arab party, though they fairly recently had one Jewish MK, Tamar Gojanski. The MKs are: Mohammad Barakeh, Issam Makhoul, and Ahmad Tibi. Definitely a majority Arab party. Though as the name (Hebrew for new) suggests, it was founded by Jews.

Shas is not really in the same league as Likud, Labor, or even Shinui. Number of votes are misleading. And they're declining even in Sphardic communities.

The most important parties with zero representation are Herut (Jabotinskyite, makes Effie Eitam look lefty, still consider the East Bank part of the Greater Land of Israel,) Green Leaf (legalize pot!), and the Greens (need I elaborate?).

[M]

Yes, I am Jewish and closely follow Israeli politics, read JPost, Haaretz, and Debkafile every day. Sometimes also arutz7.