A party called “Gan Eden” wants to turn Israel into paradise. Its chairman Yeshua Ben David dreams of priestly service in the Temple, sees the Knesset as the Sanhedrin, and is running as a candidate for the office of Prime Minister.

Israeli elections are not only a battle between Likud, the center, the left, religious parties, and Arabs. They have traditionally also been a stage for political eccentrics, idealists, prophets, and self-proclaimed saviors who enter with grand visions and usually disappear again with very few votes. Particularly in Israel, where the Bible, history, religion, and politics constantly intertwine, some of these lists take on almost messianic traits: they promise salvation from debt, corruption, and social division — sometimes nothing less than the rescue of the entire country.

Yet even by Israeli electoral standards, the latest candidacy is extraordinary: a party called “Gan Eden” — literally “Garden of Eden,” or Paradise or Heaven in English — led by a man named Yeshua Ben David, meaning “Jesus, Son of David,” wants to politically renew and save Israel.

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