How being kosher can be seen as impure
Amy Siskind was a Wall Street executive turned feminist activist when US President Trump accessed to the throne. At first, she was in shock and after two weeks she decided to begin chronicling his assault on US decency and democracy. Her weekly reports, already for one-and-a-half years, take her some 30 hours each – charitable work, aimed at reminding us that his craziness is just that – in the hope that one day we’ll be able to return to normalcy. But then Siskind became a target herself. Not of the Trump camp or neo-Nazis. Rather, of the ultra-Left. What happened?
Mistakes
Siskind puts her weekly evaluations in a wider framework. However, she is more at home in anti-Sexism work than in the broader scene of politics. So, she made mistakes. At first, she is mercilessly assaulted for them. But that she made mistakes turns out to be just a lame excuse.
Siskind is characterized as a fake, not really against Trump, a closet Republican! Because in the past she has supported Republican con artist Sarah Palin for her “unique talent to foster cooperation.” From the point of view of a bipartisan activism for women’s rights, that’s understandable. From a political point of view, it’s naive. But to then call her a stealth Republican is of course completely baseless.
So what is the real reason for the deep aversion of her? A new Jewish Telegraph Agency report that now spread the word of slander about her does not give a clue. Except for those who can read between the lines.
Some Dumb White Lady
Look at this twitter message:
American comedian and actress Kathy Griffin calls Siskind “some dumb white lady.” Please note that Griffin herself is some white lady. She became word-(in)famous for her photo shoot with a fake bloody severed Trump head for which she later apologized, which apology she later retracted twice. There is no doubt that she hates the 45th US President.
So, Griffin hates Trump. But why does she hate Trump critic Siskind? Not because she is white or a lady. Or even dumb. The pink elephant is so large in the room that hardly any oxygen is left for anyone else.
Let me give you one more hint. Two years ago, Siskind had the gall to condemn Black Lives Matter after it accused Israel of genocide.
https://twitter.com/Amy_Siskind/status/761762011134976000
Anti-Jewish
Siskind is Jewish. Maybe not religiously (I don’t know) but her parents are both Jews. And Jews are seen by intersectionalists as not oppressed but rather as privileged. (For leftists who got trapped in this nonsense, see my recent post here.) The only way for Jews to redeem themselves and be “kosher” in the fight against “all” oppressions is by being anti-Zionists and by criticizing other Jews who are held hostage by the Right.
And that’s Siskind’s “problem.” She’s not a self-hating anti-Zionist Jew. She doesn’t even advocate herself as Jewish. She calls herself: “Advocate for women’s & LGBT rights, & equality. Mom. Gay. Dog lover. Jock. Nerd.”
“Closeted Republican” is code for closeted Jew – in the sense of: a secret imperialist, racist, mass murderer, oppressor, big capitalist. Siskind is a very fine and valuable activist, feminist and anti-Trump campaigner. She’s only trashed because of Jews hatred. And as I’ve noticed of all hard-core anti-Semites: they all lie (in order to defend their bigotry and stay hateful against Jews), so they won’t tell you the real reason. How much stronger would the Left be when it cleanses itself from animosity against Jews!
Sad. And dumb. To attack the best of activists.
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