The security situation creates a great deal of tension. Israelis need someone to blame for issues that are not in their direct control. Each crisis leads to a call for elections. Since Israel has so many crises, we have frequent elections.
Of course, those elections offer scapegoats rather than solutions. We need to blame somebody for the latest incursion, attack, or crisis, and it is easy to blame a politician and then to call for his overthrow.
It is not clear whether voters believe that the opposition will be any better. Somehow, the "grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" concept may help some believe that the person who is not in office will do better than the incumbent.
However, in most cases, the elections serve a very important purpose beyond their goals in a democracy: They allow Israelis to let off steam.
Israelis need to pour out their anger and venom on a target. Somehow, soccer or racing is not enough. Even a game of Politicians vs. Constituents would probably be fixed.
With all of the crises facing Israel, the poor politician never really has a chance to try to run the country. He's always on guard because he may be overthrown following the next crisis. That constant stream of elections disrupts the country and doesn't make the situation any better.
However, people will have let off steam.
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