Israel has voted – but should evangelicals care?

I have never seen an Israeli election so widely reported in the British media before. This tiny strip of land – yes, roughly the size of Wales – seems never far from our television screens, newspapers and political discussions. Its politics, its security and its future appear to occupy an extraordinary amount of attention.

Indeed, I must confess that I was a little surprised to be asked to write about the Israeli election for Evangelicals Now. Does it really matter that much to us? What benefit is there to you, or indeed to me, in discussing the complexities of Israeli politics?

An election full of surprises

Israel's voting system is rather different from our own. Instead of Britain's familiar "first past the post" system, Israel uses proportional representation. The aim is to allow a broad spectrum of political parties to be represented in the Knesset (Israel's parliament), with Governments generally formed through coalitions. It is almost impossible for a single party to win an outright majority.