Opinion

There is something almost supernatural about election season. It’s an exciting and electrifying time. Just look at the astounding TV viewership of the Amy Coney Barrett Judiciary Committee hearings to catch a glimpse of democracy in action and the spellbinding nature of the American way. Fox News dominated the cable news networks with 2.985 million viewers. CNN has to play catch-up because at the outset, they cut away early, using pundits to criticize Judge Barrett instead. CNN’s actions prompted Senator Ted Cruz to tweet, “Presumably they’re worried voters will be impressed by Judge Barrett.” Nominating Judge Barrett might have been President Trump’s smartest election strategy to date. She is making him look good even to his detractors.

As the survivors of the Holocaust leave us, it is up to each and every individual to do his and her part in educating the public of the horrors, depravity, and evil the Nazis unleashed upon this earth.

In 2016, I had the privilege of sitting down with a few senior Republican Congressmen not long after the Trump victory. All of them told me that the one thing they wanted most of all to be accomplished during the next four years was filling any vacancies on the Supreme Court with conservative-minded justices. The 2016 election was considered the most critical in recent American history because of the possibility that three seats would become available. This would ensure the stability of the American republic for many years to come. Twenty-six percent of Trump voters reported that the Supreme Court was the most important factor in their decision; only 18 percent of Clinton voters thought the Supreme Court was the most important issue. President Trump, by nominating Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, guarantees the successful future of America.

I remember well President Trump privately saying that if he was a candidate for Prime Minister in Israel, he would beat even his good friend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Sovereignty – or as the world likes to call it, “annexation” – of Judea and Samaria is still the goal. Despite the brilliant and extraordinary peacemaking efforts by the Trump administration, the 2,000-year dream of re-applying sovereignty to Israel’s Biblical and historic heartland should still be the prime focus.

Historically, the Jewish people have always done better when their political leaders have gotten behind their rabbinical leaders. One of the reasons for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s success and longevity has been his respect and rapport with rabbinical leaders. It should not be lost on or forgotten by future prime ministers. It is to Ben-Gurion’s credit that he had a close relationship with first Chief Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaKohen Kook, of blessed memory. It is also a remarkable feat that Ben-Gurion continued the Chief Rabbinate and handed over control of marriages, conversions, divorce, and kashrus after the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook envisioned the Chief Rabbinate as a position as follows: “The Rabbanut will have an impact by virtue of its constant efforts to bring people together, to inject a spirit of harmony among all parties and factions, and to strengthen the Torah and its honor in the Holy Land and throughout the world.” It is up to all of us to achieve this lofty goal.