https://rabbimanning.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Democracy-in-Halacha-and-Hashkafa.pdf
A] General Issues• how to define ‘democracy’?
- appointment of the executive and legislature by popular vote• who gets to vote?
• is separation of state and religion an important element of democracy? need it be?
• note the political abuse of the term ‘democratic’ by left and right, especially in Israel
https://www.etzion.org.il/en/judaism-and-democracy-part-2-2
The relationship between Halakha and democracy must be examined not only in terms of reconciling the contradictions. There are certainly contradictions between Halakha and democracy – particularly in the sphere of the rights of individuals. We must rise above – but not ignore – these points of conflict. We may see Halakha not only as facilitating the existence of democracy, but also – in certain senses – promoting it, according with it, and going along with it in the same direction and in the same spirit.
https://www.etzion.org.il/en/judaism-and-democracy-part-1-2
This subject used to be a popular one in our circles. In essence it is immanent to the wider western society within which we live. The crown of democracy has traditionally been accorded a fair degree of prestige. There was a period when even fundamentally totalitarian states – such as East Germany or Communist China – called themselves “democratic” countries. The term “undemocratic” or “anti-democratic” was perceived as something to be ashamed of, as opposed to the stamp of democracy, which became a sought-after commodity. Thus, there are many who seek to grasp this crown, regardless of whether it suits their reality or not.
The world of Torah, too, seeks inclusion within the sphere of democracy. This is understandable not only from the practical, pragmatic view – the public relations perspective. Fundamentally speaking, democratic perception and thinking include values that are very close to our hearts.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/30/us/jerry-falwell-jr-downfall/index.html
Fallwell Jr., whose tenure as president and chancellor of Liberty University crashed to an inglorious end this week, always seemed closer in spirit to his defiant, bootlegging grandfather than his Bible-thumping namesake.
Each time, Falwell would insist he is not a moral leader. His job was to grow Liberty's endowment, campus and student body.
"I have never been a minister," he told one critic on Twitter, pointing to his background as a lawyer and real estate developer.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/30/politics/trump-polling-analysis/index.html
The result of the 2016 outcome for this cycle is that the general public doesn't buy the polling showing Biden clearly ahead. They think Trump is going to win.
https://www.axios.com/trump-upset-biden-2020-election-da37cdd6-1b96-4377-9584-9df9f2554055.html
It feels like August of 2016 all over again. Polls show Donald Trump losing big. Pundits proclaim he can't win. Reporters sneer at Trump voters on Twitter and cable.
Why it matters: There are several signs that should give the Trump-is-toast self-assured pause.
Trump’s big bet is that there are a lot of working class voters, especially in rural areas, who did not vote in 2016 but will this time.
His other bet is that months of dumping on Joe Biden, often with
lies or wild hyperbole, will do what he did to Hillary Clinton: Make
the Democratic nominee seem slightly more unpalatable than himself.
https://nypost.com/2020/08/29/sheldon-silver-is-at-upstate-prison-with-covid-19-worries/
“These are people who are elderly with serious underlying conditions and it’s just mind-boggling that the prison is not adhering to the US attorney general’s directives,” said Neal Sher, a Manhattan lawyer who has been lobbying for the “compassionate release” of three elderly inmates. “The real threat is that this is a death sentence.”
One prisoner who Sher wants released is Mendel Epstein, a 75-year-old New Jersey Orthodox rabbi who is obese and has high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and impaired kidney function.
“His heart health remains in precarious condition, necessitating
multiple medications daily and rendering him incredibly susceptible to
illness,” wrote Sher in a May letter to the Bureau of Prisons seen by
The Post.
In 2015, Epstein was convicted along with two other Orthodox rabbis of the kidnapping and torture of Jewish men to force them to grant religious divorces or “gets.” His release date is in 2024, according to public records.
<iframe width="590" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/EaeU8hfXKlg" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
