Mismatch between expectations and partisan
unfortunate realities
makes electoral shit inevitably hit the fan
like ballots with ballotic ease.
Blessed more than are the meek, are sadly unimpressive
candidates in primaries elected,
promoted hopefully as pure because progressive,
then demoted, at long last rejected.
More sad than these are Jews whose altruistic
support of their own enemies has turned democ-
racy into a weapon that is anti-Hebrewistic,
killing Jewish shophtim, shotrim, with an electoral shock,
encouraging the rejection of candidates
for office that Deuteronomy demands,
by opening the electoral gates
to antisemitism in these voters’ lands.
Jewish people need to be just as united
as the United States which was inspired
by Torah laws when it invited
the Jews whose laws it always has admired.
Deut. 16:18 endorses legally appointed shophtim and shotrim, judges and officials:
שֹׁפְטִ֣ים וְשֹֽׁטְרִ֗ים תִּֽתֶּן־לְךָ֙ בְּכׇל־שְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ אֲשֶׁ֨ר אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ לִשְׁבָטֶ֑יךָ וְשָׁפְט֥וּ אֶת־הָעָ֖ם מִשְׁפַּט־צֶֽדֶק׃
You shall appoint shophtim, judges, and shotrim, officials, for your tribes, in all the settlements that your God YHWH is giving you, and they shall govern the people with due justice.
I composed most of this poem on 8/29/25 after reading “The Ballot Box Is the Key to Preserving — or Losing — Our Current System,” Algemeiner, 8/29/25, in which Rabbi Pini Dunner writes:
https://www.algemeiner.com/2025/08/29/the-ballot-box-is-the-key-to-preserving-or-losing-our-current-system/
In 1856, Abraham Lincoln, that master of the pithy aphorism, noted that “the ballot is stronger than the bullet.” So sharply observed, and it is one of those deceptively simple truths that history has confirmed time and again.
In Britain’s recent election, a record-breaking 25 Muslim MPs were voted into the House of Commons — up from 19 in 2019. It may be a tiny fraction of seats overall, but it’s enough to mark a turning point. Most were Labour, although a handful came from across the political spectrum, including independents who campaigned almost exclusively on the issue of Gaza……
In Canada, the 2025 federal election brought another milestone. Thirteen Muslim MPs entered parliament, up from eleven. The electoral success wasn’t accidental. Muslim advocacy groups coordinated nationally, launching websites and endorsements, rallying communities around a shared platform: “Free Palestine.”….
In France, it’s the same story. Nineteen Muslim MPs were elected in 2024, mainly through alliances with left-wing parties determined to block Marine Le Pen’s far-right surge. France prides itself on strict secularism, but demography speaks louder than ideology — and particularly when Muslim candidates use their Islamic faith as their number one selling point.
With Muslim voters already 10 percent of the French population, their influence is set to grow — and politics is re-calibrating to reflect that reality. It’s not for nothing that France, along with Canada and the UK, is set to recognize “Palestine” — the tail is wagging the national political dog.
Gershon Hepner is a poet who has written over 25,000 poems on subjects ranging from music to literature, politics to Torah. He grew up in England and moved to Los Angeles in 1976. Using his varied interests and experiences, he has authored dozens of papers in medical and academic journals, and authored “Legal Friction: Law, Narrative, and Identity Politics in Biblical Israel.” He can be reached at gershonhepner@gmail.com.
