Any racism in US national immigration bans will make them backfire! Here’s an alternative

The US President calls his ban against all immigration from certain Muslim countries “new vetting measures.” This is a foul euphemism, if that’s not a contradiction in terms. The President has defended it as “not a ban on Muslims,” but that’s just spin. But it’s more than wrong – it will boomerang!

For the Left-winger: What’s wrong with this ban?

Being careful with certain groups (“profiling”) proved highly successful in Israel, though it’s uncomfortable because it really smacks after discrimination.
However, being selective against every member of certain groups is
And to close the doors completely on every member of certain groups is the ultimate racism.

The criteria to admit or reject people must stem from individual norms – not group characteristics. N.B.: “No side curls” or “no beards” is not really personal.

The good thing of this new ban is that this will be condemned and fought until it’s taken down.

Activists, politicians, Members of Congress, lawyers, the free press, commentators, watch groups (seven great links!), think tanks and bloggers, it’s times to show what you’re made of, so speak up and act up!

For the Right-winger: a Proposal for a smart alternative

However, the above humanistic and Left-wing arguments may be cozy for Left-wingers, but if one wants to convince Right-wingers, one should use arguments that’ll speak to them!! Well, here they come.

A total ban is even stupid because it will weed out all or most Muslim extremists and murderers from certain countries, and set the doors wide open for and even encourages immigration of dedicated White undercover converts to extremist Islam from Western countries, who are not only hard to catch – they also will be hard to distinguish and follow, once they’re in. It’s like using an inept antibiotic – the worst microbes will survive and the infection will become worse. (Not to say that people are bugs.)

A rational alternative: Let the State declare an official difference between devout peaceful Muslims and potential violent extremists. Make the average Muslim feel a full, respected and even loved part of the US population. Speak out all the time, and shape and sharpen laws against discrimination based on race or religion. Create courses fighting prejudice on TV and for law enforcement. We need everyone to have a mind open enough to distinguish between unrealistic and realistic fears, between ideology and reality.

When that’s in place, there is a realistic opportunity to say to the regular Muslim:

You live inside a democracy where you are respected and protected. We expect that moderate Muslims like you will be the first to discover violent extremists. In your countries of origin, if you went against the violent ones, you and your family ended up in a coffin. Here the situation is radically different. It’s not pleasant, but you have to report them. Whether it’s a member of your family or community, or an old friend or neighbor, if they begin to show signs of being dangerous, you must turn them in. That will be your safety and everyone’s safety. That’s how things are done in a democracy.
Of course, complains will be investigated, and not be believed in advance without question. Misplaced suspicion will be overlooked; lies and smears from animosity between people will be punished on the slanderer.
In our country, the good ones get protected and the bad cookies will be confronted. Everyone is invited to be part of the good ones and join the interconnected network of citizen protecting each other and all of us, with the State on your side.

Dear Right-winger! This is more laborious than a total immigration ban on certain groups, but it will create safety and will be held to your credit.

The vetting at the border is hard work, must be done well and humanely, and it never will be perfect. True safety will come from Muslims being part of society. They might even be able to export what they learn in the US, that resisting the mad ones will create safety, to other countries that would enable them there to establish democracies. This all will do the US proud. Making America greater than ever!

Comparison

Last but not least, some false comparison is made between this ban on all people from 7 terrorist breeding countries into the US and a ban of decades by 16 Muslim countries for anyone who visited the State of Israel. Why does that comparison not hold?

The ban on these Muslims is (supposedly) to protect the US; the ban on the people that live or visited Israel is meant to hurt Israel.
Muslims might want to flee to the US; Israelis and Israel-goers will not want to flee to countries boycotting Israel.
Some Muslim might want to hurt USers; no Israel-loving person would enter a Muslim country to terrorize the population there.

Quite a difference. The Muslim countries’ ban on Israel lovers is much worse. However, that doesn’t mean that the US has a privilege to do something stupid that is less bad.

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. 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