Opinion

In addition to choosing a Public Advocate and a Queens District Attorney on Tuesday, we will vote on five ballot questions. The most important of these is Question #1, which would implement ranked choice voting in primaries and special elections for city offices. This would profoundly change the nature and results of our elections.

The Queens Jewish community breathed a collective sigh of relief when the final ballots were counted in the Democratic Primary race for Queens DA. Tiffany Cabán, a progressive socialist in the same ilk as Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (who endorsed her) frightened people so much that there was an immediate voter registration drive with an urging to register as a Democrat. If Queens is so deeply Blue, then logic would dictate that even the conservative voter should register as a Democrat so that a more mainstream politician would reach the general election. The Democratic mainstream, however, has gone so far to the left that a lifelong Democrat is now running against Melinda Katz as a Republican.

Last week, Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook and the eighth richest person in the world, was brought before Congress so he can be raked over the coals for his company’s most recent policies. Ostensibly a hearing about Facebook’s proposed cryptocurrency, the inquiry quickly devolved into attacks on Facebook’s unwillingness to go along with the Democrats’ plan to regulate speech and prevent voters from hearing from all candidates.

We have just finished nine days of celebrating the beautiful holy days of Sukkos, Hoshana Rabbah, Sh’mini Atzeres, and Simchas Torah. In the inspiring and joyous words of Hallel, there is one line that should serve as a warning for our time. “It is better to trust in Hashem than to trust in princes.”

On Tuesday, we will once again have the opportunity and the responsibility of electing the people who represent us and to vote on several ballot issues. The winners of Tuesday’s election will make important decisions that will impact on our community for many years to come. The only way in which our voices will be heard is if we come out to vote. The most important position up for election is Queens District Attorney. We will have the chance to elect someone who has consistently been there for us, Melinda Katz.

Various media outlets criticized President Trump over one of his defenses of his decision to remove American troops who were assisting Kurdish fighters in Syria. “They didn’t help us in the Second World War,” President Trump said regarding the Kurds. “They didn’t help us with Normandy, as an example.” To rebut Trump’s argument, CNN quoted Michael Rubin, from the American Enterprise Institute: “World War II was a war among states and the Kurds weren’t a state.” It also quoted Henri Barkey, a Middle East expert from the Council of Foreign Relations, who said, “Just like many other people who did not have a state, (Kurds) could not have helped the United States.”