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As I write this column, reports are that negotiations over a national unity government in Israel led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have broken down. Prime Minister Netanyahu may return the mandate to form a government to President Rivlin, who would then task Benny Gantz with forming a national unity government. By the time you read this column, the situation may have changed. One possible outcome is a Gantz-led government, which would include Blue and White, Likud, and Yisrael Beiteinu. Such a government would be somewhat more amenable to concessions to the Palestinians and far less accommodating or even downright hostile to the needs of the Torah-observant community.

The third Democratic debate was last week, and in the two and a half hours, many topics were discussed. Healthcare, guns, China, education, and of course, Trump, were just some of the flashpoints of argument between the candidates. One topic that wasn’t discussed at all, and barely discussed in the ten hours of debate so far in 2019, was the Middle East and Israel.

Kol Yisrael areivin zeh lazeh – all Jews are responsible one for another. It is incumbent on all of us to protect the safety of Israel and to ensure the viability of our shuls, yeshivos, and chesed institutions here in Queens. Whether we like it or not, the reality is that many of the critical decisions that impact on our community are made by politicians.

In the first legislative move by a member of “The Squad” since the Democratic Civil War spilled out into the streets of Washington, DC, a pro-BDS resolution was sponsored by Ilhan Omar. Omar, who has a long history of anti-Semitic statements and a deference to radical Islamist terrorists, disguises her obvious hatred of the Jewish people and the Jewish state as a First Amendment issue. She is not alone in the Democratic Caucus on this issue. There is increasing support for anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiments in both Houses; this is only the latest symptom of a larger disease.

This week, the simmering conflict in the House Democratic Caucus boiled over when freshman Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez finally fought back against Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi. This public feud shines daylight on a conflict that has quietly been occurring since 2016: the Democratic Civil War – moderates versus socialists.

In a dramatic turn of events, Melinda Katz has taken the lead in the Democratic Primary for District Attorney. At least, that’s the case as I write this column. By the time it appears, who knows. We are headed for manual recount. There will probably be court challenges and maybe even another election. But while the result of the primary may not be clear for a while, we can still learn some lessons by taking a closer look at the results.