I don’t like to repeat myself, but who’s going to read my old blog posts?
Now, some say that Netanyahu should become Israel’s next president to break the no-Netanyahu/only-Netanyahu deadlock for PM and prevent a fifth round of elections in 54 months. Brilliant, no? No, no way.
There was a gentlemen’s agreement that Ashkenazic and Mizrachi people would take turns for the presidency. It was not to be.
Katzav was a token Mizrachi one. A backbencher no one ever heard of, just put there to offset Aryeh Deri being sent to jail. One knew of Katzav’s sexual history and that he could easily be disposed of and disgraced. He was known as a womanizer. And indeed, in the course of his term, he was tried, removed, and jailed for rape. The prosecutor ‘happened to be’ Mizrachi too. Pride in ‘their’ president among the Mizrachim turned into shame. It was an intricate trick, once again, to show the Mizrachim their place.
Soon, the much loved and respected President Rivlin’s term will come to an end. Ashkenazic candidates are lining up already, totally in concert with their White factual privilege and imagined entitlement. The chutzpa!
Israel’s next president must be Mizrachi. Any other outcome is racist.
It must be noted that President Rivlin, before he was elected, was already a known anti-racist and he has not disappointed. He has done good work uniting the country, speaking and acting out against blatant and subtle racism consistently and continually. However, that’s not enough anymore.
A Sea of Ashkenazic Men
Yes, men. Nothing wrong with men (almost). But also nothing wrong with women. And again, they would need to take a step backward to appease yet another male, Netanyahu, or intrigues between men? No way. He can wait his turn! Hard? Women have been waiting their turn forever.
Anno 2021, it must be a woman too. PM Golda Meir was Israel’s real token woman leader. And she was scapegoated for a war failure. There is so much everyday normalized sexism in Israel, the next president must be a woman. Men can be allies, as I try to be, and should stand with and speak for women. But we must do so alongside women–not instead of them!
Only a Mizrachi Woman
Obama did not end racism in the US. Worse, he was followed by Trump, the self-proclaimed ‘least racist person in the world.’ But maybe the contrast between Trump and Obama has helped foster the national awareness that revived the Black Lives Matter movement.
An Israeli Mizrachi woman president will not end sexism or racism in Israel. But her presence and personality certainly will help. Just by showing women’s and Mizrachi excellence at everything. Her mere presidency might stimulate that once, head of Israel’s police force would be a woman. That more is done against sexual assault, by strangers, in the home, and among friends. That racism against Ethiopians is stopped more. To better help stop violence in the Arab street and get more integration and cooperation between Arab-Muslim and Arab-Jewish Israelis.
To those who want to object: ‘How dare you suggest that any Ashkenazi or any man is a priori disqualified?’ I will say: ‘How dare you suggest that any Mizrachi and woman is a priori disqualified?’ No one is disqualified, but for once, the over-privileged can wait their turn.
If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu. Enough with blatant racism and sexism already! Yet another Ashkenazi and/or man as Israel’s head of state is unbearable–no matter how excellent s/he might be.
Prospective Candidates
Some are economically or nationally (left-wing or right-wing) so extreme that they could never unite the country. But their ego thinks they can.
The candidates, so far, I have heard of:
Ashkenazi males:
- Former MK Yehuda Glick.
- Jewish Agency head Isaac Herzog is expected to run.
- Professor Dan Shechtman.
- Minister of Health Yuli Edelstein.
- I expect disgraced PM Ehud Olmert to announce his candidacy too.
- PM Netanyahu.
Mizrachi males:
- Professor Shimon Shetreet, undeservedly passed over last time.
- Minister of Economy Amir Peretz.
An Ashkenazi female:
- Former Supreme Court Judge Dalia Dorner.
Mizrachi females:
- Speaker of the Knesset Dalia Itzik was already acting president.
- Miriam Peretz.
Now is the time to start harping against male and Ashkenazic privilege! Please, join and let our voice swell to a choir. Enough is enough. Our goal should be to ingrain that not choosing a female and Mizrachi is indecent.
I expect Yehuda Glick, Isaac Herzog, Dan Shechtman, Yuli Edelstein, Ehud Olmert, Bibi Netanyahu, Shimon Shetreet, Amir Peretz, and Dalia Dorner, in unison, to express their preference for Dalia Itzik, or Miriam Peretz.
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. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2000 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, to which one may subscribe too, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. *
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 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. *
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