JUST DO IT! For America and Israel and all of our futures: VOTE

We’re not going to suggest that it’s unimportant who you vote for — of course, that does matter very much. But opinions in our community are mostly set, and at The Jewish Star we prefer to facilitate discussions rather than thumb the scale.

What we will say without equivocation, however, is this: It is paramount to our community’s interests that we vote on Tuesday.

Whoever wins the White House — and also of great importance, whoever wins the many state and local legislative and judicial races on the Election Day card — must be reminded that we in the Orthodox communities on Long Island take our civic responsibilities seriously, that we follow the races and monitor the actions of our elected officials, and that we will respond if the issues we hold dear are ignored or mishandled.

Whether the issue is continuing America’s long tradition (sometimes threatened) of support for the security of the Jewish state of Israel, or insuring a fair shake for yeshivas in the allocation of state aid, or facilitating hearings for Shabbos observers who face discrimination in employment, or a myriad other concerns, voting might be the surest way — it’s certainly the easiest way — to let the pols know we’re watching them.

Ultimately, Israel’s safety, along with the solvency of our yeshivas and the success of our parnasa, rests with Hashem. But we each have a job to do. On Tuesday, that job is to vote.