Israeli politics is complicated because there are so many special interest groups in the country: Arabs, Jews, settlers, Orthodox, secular, those for a two-state solution, those against a two-state solution and a plethora of others. Each of these segments has totally different core interests, and this complicates campaigning.

Making inflammatory policy statements in the heat of an emotional campaign is not unique to Israel. Remember how former Canadian prime minister Jean Chrétien promised to cancel the general sales tax if elected. He won the election and then proceeded to not keep his promise. Campaigning is not governing. We need to be patient to see if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu governs differently from the way he promised in his campaign.

The results have surprised many. Likud has 30 seats and the Zionist Union has 24. The western press was rooting for Isaac Herzog and the Zionist Union. The pollsters predicted that Herzog would get more seats than Netanyahu. The exit polls had them tied.

There are many hypotheses about what happened in the last two days leading up to the election. I will not review any of them, because they are all ex post facto, after the fact. However, there is a phenomenon happening, not just in Israel, but in other western countries as well. A significant percentage of the population make up their minds in the polling booth. They do not decide whom they will vote for until they are forced to make a choice. These people did not change their minds; they just had not made up their minds. This happens regularly in today’s high-stakes politics, where the voter is faced with life-challenging issues. In Israel, is the issue the economy or is it security? Is it a decisive leader or a leader prepared to compromise? These are complicated choices, with existential implications.

For me, what is relevant is that Israel has a robust, open, transparent, democracy, rough and tumble, bruising, but engaging. In Israel there is a vibrant, active press and an independent judiciary. Democracy thrives when we don’t second guess the results. Clearly, in Israel, people are informed about the issues and the leaders of the parties. People always vote in their own self-interest. There are at least 10 parties contending. Votes are precious for every party. A large turnout indicated how engaged people were and how they understood the messages from each party.

For many in the West, the hope was that Israelis would have a new prime minister. The coverage in the press indicated that. Israelis understand their own interests and more of them chose to support Netanyahu rather than Herzog. The scare tactics used suggest desperation on both sides. Frantic calls to supporters are not unique, but they are part of a democratic process where the winner takes all and the losers take a back seat and begin strategizing for next time.

As Jews in Canada, we should respect the choices the Israelis have made. However, my expectation is that many of us will feel embarrassed by the election results. My hope is that we will trust the fundamental democratic nature of Israeli society.

In Israel the stakes are high in every election. People ultimately make choices in their own self-interest. Just remember Start-up Nation before you explode with doubt.

The country has much to be proud of. We need not be sensitive about criticizing some of the final promises Netanyahu made. We need to trust the choices Israelis have made, and we also need to let them know where we think Netanyahu is stepping on values that we consider sacred in Canada, especially the value that every citizen has equal rights under the law.

Martin Goldfarb is a principal at Goldfarb Intelligence Marketing, a polling and market research firm in Toronto.