Hi everyone! It was election day in Israel and exit poll results are coming out.

First, let me explain how the Israeli parliament works. The Knesset (Israel’s version of Congress) is made up of 120 members. Unlike America, Israel has only one chamber (as opposed to Senate and House of Representatives in the US), and Israelis do not vote directly for President or Prime Minister. Also, unlike America, Israel has many political parties and voters vote for a party, not for a person, though the party leader becomes the face of the party.

As Israelis cast their ballots for a party, each party’s number of Knesset seats is determined by proportion of the national vote received. A majority of 61 is necessary to form a government, yet no one party will achieve 61 seats. Thus, they must form a coalition with other parties to reach a majority.

With that as foundation, here is what the exit polls (which just came out) indicate:

• Depending on which exit poll you believe, Netanyahu’s Likud party has likely gained the most Knesset seats, somewhere between 22-30. Channel 14 (the Israeli equivilent of Fox News, and the most accurate in recent elections) predicts 30 seats for Netanyahu.
• Together with the other conservative and ultra-conservative parties, Netanyahu’s bloc appears to total 60 seats, according to Channel 14. (As few as 48, according to other polls.)
• The opposition parties (woke liberal) appear to have garnered 43 seats. (Again, according to Channel 14.)
• The key statistic: Israeli Arabs turned out in record numbers. In the last election, they garnered 10 seats. Channel 14 has them winning 17 seats in this election…a gigantic increase.

What does it all mean? It appears to be good news/bad news. It is good news that Netanyahu’s Likud party won the most seats of any party. Prior to the election, it was predicted by some that Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party would surpass Likud. It didn’t happen…by a lot, according to several polls.

The bad news: with 17 seats going to the Arabs, they could very well become king-makers. Likud and its allies will likely never agree to form a government with Arab parties because they would end up calling the shots. (“Do as we wish, or we will back out of the coalition and blow up the coalition.”)

The opposition, however, leans very left already. To take in the Arab parties would make a 60-60 split and major political gamesmanship would transpire. In the end, it seems unlikely either party wins a majority. Look for Israel to go back to the polls within 3 months if that happens.

Be reminded, these are only exit polls, and people aren’t always straightforward about how they voted. Until votes are counted (in roughly 2-3 days in order to give IDF soldiers serving on battlefields to vote), no one knows what the results will be.

But here is a take away…

Radical jihadists know they cannot win militarily. Thus, their method of jihad is changing. It is happening in Israel, in America, in Brazil, and throughout Europe. They will use democracy to destroy democracy, and they are coming after Israel and the west. American friends, I plead with you once more: PLEASE vote! Every vote matters and if Christians fail to vote according to Christian values, we will soon not have the opportunity to do so.

If that sounds a bit alarmist, think about what’s happening in Europe. They have already lost many of their nations to the radical Islamists who have taken over seats of power. We see it in our own elections in America. How did a radical Islamist become mayor of NYC, or a Senator in Minnesota? How do people who hate America hold positions of power in Congress? We are ostrichs with our heads in the sand if we believe it will never happen in America.

Be civically engaged and, above all, vote your values! Also, please ask God for a miracle in Israel. He has done it throughout history. Perhaps its time for another! May conservative legislators be elected to office in both Israel and America.

PS: If you are looking for tour updates, they will continue! Stay tuned.