The elections in Israel: Why don’t the Jews accept Jesus as their Messiah?

In America, many of us are sleep deprived after watching Virginia defeat Texas Tech in overtime last night. Meanwhile, much of the world is focused on Israel, where one of the most significant elections in years is taking place.

I have led approximately thirty study tours to Israel over the years. Each time, the two most common questions I’m asked are: “Why don’t the Jews accept Jesus as their Messiah?” and “How does the Israeli government work?”

The two questions are more related than one might think.

Since Israelis are voting today in parliamentary elections, we’ll address the second question first. Here’s the process:

Fourteen parties are vying for votes. Citizens vote for parties, not people. At stake is control of the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament) and its 120 seats. The more votes a party receives, the more seats it wins.

No party has ever won a sixty-one-seat majority. After today’s vote, the president of Israel (a largely ceremonial position) will invite one party’s leader to form a governing coalition with other parties. That person will have twenty-eight days to form a government, with a possible fourteen-day extension.

The president selects the leader who, in his opinion, has the best chance of forming a multi-party coalition to reach sixty-one Knesset seats. This is usually the leader of the party that received the most votes in the election, but not always.

If that leader is successful, he or she becomes the prime minister of the country. If not, the president invites a different candidate to form a governing coalition.

Making history in three ways

Today’s election is historic for three reasons.

One: If Benjamin Netanyahu is reelected, he will become the longest-serving prime minister in Israeli history.

Two: Mr. Netanyahu is facing the possibility of indictment later this year on corruption charges. He would be the first prime minister to face trial while in office. He…