Israel is counting its election results, and it is going to be a long night.
The first thing to understand is how the voting works. In Israel, you vote for a party, not a candidate. In order to be the majority coalition, whose leader becomes the prime minister, you must win 61 seats out of a possible 120. If no party has 61 seats, a coalition is created of different parties that surpass that number, and it is then called a majority coalition. The president of Israel brings together the party leaders, and he unilaterally determines which party has the first chance of bringing together a majority coalition, and they have one month to do that. If no majority coalition can be created with 61 seats, then the highest minority coalition becomes the head of the government, their leader becomes the prime minister, and elections will be scheduled in the near future to try again. The current leadership stays in power until either another majority coalition is formed or new elections take place.
Likud, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, is the leader of one coalition; and the "opposition coalition" is led by Gadi Eisenkot and Naftali Bennett.
As of 6 a.m. Israel time, depending on which Israeli news you listen to, the Likud coalition is looking like it will get 61 or 62 seats, which would give it enough to be re-elected (there are 120 members of the Knesset, and 61 are required for a majority coalition). Or, other outlets say that the opposition coalition has more seats than Likud, but not enough for a majority coalition. Some outlets say that both coalitions are heading towards 50 or 51 seats each, with the Muslim Arab parties (the largest of which is Ra'am) having 18 seats. Likud, as a party, is currently on track to have more votes than any other single party, but that does not mean that their coalition will be strong enough to become a majority.
Both the opposition and the Likud coalition have vowed that they would never partner with the Arab parties. But the opposition coalition has also said they would never partner with anything that Netanyahu is affiliated with. One of the challenges is that if neither major coalition has enough seats, it puts the Muslim Arab parties in a very powerful position, God forbid.
The voting turnout has been outstanding, with a larger percentage of Israelis voting in this election than at any time over the last 40 years. What is disturbing is that the Arab vote has come out in extremely strong numbers, and this could be dangerous for Israel's safety. What is also interesting is that Netanyahu has been doing exceptionally well so far in the cities and areas that have been experiencing war and missiles, such as in the North, which is an endorsement of his leadership by those who are most affected directly by the war. Netanyahu/Likud is surpassing the expectations of most media predictions significantly so far.
The election results will not be determined for at least many hours, until our Wednesday morning; but all election results must be determined within eight days of the election per Israeli law. The President of Israel will probably be put in a difficult position, especially if Likud as a party has the most votes, but the opposition coalition has more seats.
As of right now with only 2,122,846 votes reported, which represent 37.4% of the ballots turned in, Likud currently stands at 28 seats, Yashar at 21, the Joint List 12, Yachad 11, United Torah Judaism 8, Yisrael Beiteinu 8, the Democrats 7, Jewish Power 7, Shas 7, Religious Zionism 7 and Ra'am at 4. According to the initial seat distribution, the Netanyahu bloc stands at 57, the Eisenkot bloc at 47, and the Arab parties stand at 16.
We can be assured that all of these numbers will be changing throughout the night. I will send out more information if there is actually verified information rather than projections.
I always question why Israel allows Muslim Arabs to vote. I understand it would give the world another chance to call Israel "apartheid,” which is undesirable, but given that no Jew or Christian can vote or be part of any of the 51 Muslim nations' governments in the world, shouldn't Israel be able to determine that there is no Arab vote? No one, like the UN, questions this of the 51 Muslim countries, so shouldn't Israel be able to determine who their voting citizens are as well? This is an important question especially tonight, when the election results may, God forbid, put an inordinate amount of power in the Arab Muslim minority who support Hamas et al.
Let us all pray that a strong and healthy coalition comes together. And may we all support whatever government the Israelis decide upon, whether we like or dislike, agree or disagree with its leaders. It is the Israelis who are under the threat of war every day, and it is our blessing and obligation to support their choices (or we can move to Israel and get involved personally if it is so important to any of us).
May God bless the land of Israel, the people of Israel, and the State of Israel; and may God bless America and her people.
Chazak u'Baruch
Rabbi Michael Barclay
October 27, 2026
17th of Cheshvan, 5787