28 days that might decide the future of Israel

With the support of 67 of the 120 members of the Knesset, it was a no-brainer for Israeli President Isaac Herzog to task Gadi Eisenkot, the leader of the Yashar Party, with forming a government following the results of last month’s general election. On the face of it, with this level of backing, compared with the 46 members who supported Netanyahu, the task should be straightforward. But it is not. This is Israeli politics, where nothing is quite what it seems.

While it is tempting to blame the politicians — and they certainly must shoulder much of the responsibility — voters have also dealt them a difficult hand in this poker-like exercise of coalition-building. In this process, numbers matter.