On Israel’s 73rd Day of Independence, here are 73 incorrect ideas.
All Israeli Jews are deeply Zionistic.
All Israelis live in constant fear.
Most Israelis hate Muslims and Most Israeli Muslims hate Jews.
Camels are still an important part of transportation in Israel.
Most Israelis have European roots.
Most manual labor in Israel is done by non-Jews.
Most Israeli Jews are religious.
Most Israeli Jews are secular.
Israel is a backward primitive country.
In Israel, most Jews are small Einsteins.
The best Israeli chess players are Jews.
The IDF has no ultra-Orthodox Jewish soldiers.
The IDF has no Muslim soldiers.
Most Israeli Jews don’t marry Jews from other traditions.
Most Israelis live on a Kibbutz.
Most Israelis live in large cities.
Most Israelis have a lot of money.
On Shabbat, all of Israel’s public life shuts down.
In Tel Aviv, everyone is secular, vegan, and gay.
In Jerusalem, almost everyone is ultra-Orthodox.
All, all the ultra-Orthodox do all day long is pray and learn Talmud.
Marriages that are forbidden by the Torah are not recognized in Israel.
Jewish security personal control the Muslim West Bank cities.
From looking at someone, you can tell a Muslim from a Jew.
Most Israeli Jews vote right-wing because they are rich.
Most heads of the army, security, and intelligence are right-wing.
Generals stay away from politics in Israel.
Most Arabs in Israel are Muslim.
Inhabitants of Gaza don’t like the Jews they meet.
Israeli Law is based largely on Jewish Law.
Most events in Israel are highly scripted and meticulously planned.
Most Israelis are excellent at folk dances.
Israelis eat hummus, falafel, and shwarma every day.
Most secular Jews in Israel do not celebrate Shabbat.
Most bus drivers in Israel are Jews and speak English too.
The climate in Israel is everywhere the same because it’s small.
The climate in Israel is everywhere different because it’s huge.
Israelis are good at making and saving money.
Most Israelis agree with each other on most things.
There are great solidarity and unity among Israeli Jews.
You hardly see any Muslim students in Israel’s universities.
All Israeli Jews have a great sense of humor and play the violin.
Most Israelis are very, very sexy.
Israeli Jews and Jordanian and Egyptian Muslims have become friends.
The international media give a fairly objective picture of Israel.
All Israeli media give a flattering or truthful picture of Israel.
All Israeli Jews visit Jerusalem at least once a year.
Most Israeli Jews speak Hebrew well.
Because many Israeli Jews carry guns, there is much gun violence.
Israel is a small country that is completely built up.
The most popular songs in the IDF are about winning wars.
Israeli society is very materialistic with bank robberies every day.
The many wars have left most Israelis angry and pessimistic.
Life expectance, because of all the wars and terrorism, is low in Israel.
Israel enjoys much international political and financial support.
There are few wars in Israel because of the help from other countries.
Climate change makes that less rain falls now in Israel.
Living in Israel feels the same as outside of Israel.
Most tourists find Israel mostly as they expected.
Christians are a little bit oppressed in Israel.
In Israel, all top positions must be taken by Jews.
Anywhere you walk in Israel, you feel that the land is holy.
All Israelis are always especially friendly and patient to tourists.
Most Israelis love life in Israel because life there fills them with hope.
Wildlife is very exotic and most Israelis can tell you about it endlessly.
Israelis are very busy and have little time to cook or talk about cooking.
All Israeli religious Jews agree because of their joint chief rabbi.
Jews from Arab countries and Arab Israelis have little in common.
Jews who immigrated to Israel generally can keep their friends abroad.
There is so much news in Israel that most people can’t keep up.
Most Israelis are eagerly awaiting people from outside to lecture them.
There is so much news in Israel that most people can’t keep up.
Most Israelis are eagerly awaiting people from outside to lecture them.
Israeli are very precise in their predictions and surprises are rare.
Now you know what not to know.
About the Author
MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. *
As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. *
This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Of the 15 (!) books he has in mind, the next two are about homosexuality in Judaism and new rabbinics. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2600 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog that also may contain updates to Times of Israel posts, to which one may subscribe, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. *
He's getting ready to publicize books on: "Free Will, "Judaism and Homosexuality, "His parents in the Holocaust, "Judaism, "A New Torah Translation and "A New Hebrew Grammar, "Co-Counseling, "Vegan Facts, "Immortality, and more. *
Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He agrees that in a post-truth world, that's irrelevant, but then this is for the record. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. *
Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. *
Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. *
He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. *
He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. *
He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. *
His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. His posts are spell, grammar, and style polished by AI, but all written by himself. *
To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. *
His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1
