Israel utilizes a parliamentary system of government although it is different from the parliamentary system of Europe. Israel has about 10 different parties that are elected to be in the Knesset (Israel's parliament) each year. So unlike voting in the U.S., in Israel they don't vote for an individual, they vote for a political party. At the end of the election the president of Israel (whose position is mostly ceremonial) meets with the heads of the political parties that were elected to the Knesset and the head of each of those parties recommends who they think should form the next governing coalition.