When the Board of Deputies' would-be presidents make their final pitch for votes on Sunday, they will have already taken part in four hustings in a fortnight.
No Jewish community election in recent history has been so closely fought or demanded such commitment from its candidates.
Their willingness to stand is, ultimately, a vote of confidence in democracy. True, the Board does not include all sections of British Jewry and may need reform, but some democracy is better than none.
Whoever wins can fairly claim to have been elected by a broad swathe of the community.
