Germany has redeemed itself. And now AP is spreading German neo-Nazi propaganda?
I found that AP reporting on Israel generally is just propaganda against Zionism, but when it comes to Jews in the Diaspora it’s on their side against any form of attack. I know this because I followed AP for years. If they changed this very recently, I don’t know. Thank G-d, my newspaper, the Jerusalem Post, silently stopped using their reports – although that might be just out of financial considerations.
However, the Times of Israel now published an AP post, including its headline, and it’s terrible. It delivers neo-Nazi propaganda without any counter-information. AP tends to change scandalous headlines, after the propaganda entered already into countless sites the world over, and through such meaningless corrections then washes its hands of it spreading slander. The initial headline of this disgrace is: “German nationalist calls for end to Nazi guilt“.
The headline is actually the worst of the whole piece. Of course, no German (or anyone for that matter) want to feel guilty. Neo-Nazis try to make themselves popular by banking on this aversion. The answer to this is: Not the admission and turn-around of the vast majority of the German People and their politicians is shameful – only some of its national past is. The Holocaust monument in Berlin is not a “monument of shame”; rather, the Holocaust itself was shameful, and the only way to get away from that crime against humanity is to reject that past – not to ignore, neutralize or glorify it. This repentance is Germany’s glory!
My four Jewish grandparents were murdered (gassed) at the hands of the Nazis in Auschwitz. More than a hundred other family members of mine were murdered in the Holocaust. And I am completely against the Germans crumbling under guilt feelings. Take pride in your repentance! Sei stoltz! Be proud! Once, Germans acted as the most despicable People, but you became the most amazing Nation. Look at your solidarity with the Jewish State! Look at how safe Jews started to feel in Germany – until a million Muslims entered that were not educated in being close to Jews and loving it, but I’m sure you will teach them.
Judaism does not believe in collective guilt. Moreover, on a personal level, deep guilt is terrible. It crush us, and people who feel bad about themselves easily end up playing villain – believing that they are no good. Every person in the world deserves to have pride. Rejecting mistakes and even genocide in one’s Nation’s history is not embarrassing. Rather it is beautiful. Even the souls of your wicked ancestors will be proud of you. You are redeeming them! (When will the Turks finally learn this?)
Another point is that many Germans suffered from the War. The Allied bombardment on Dresden would now be called a war crime. The mass murderers who returned to their families were not proper parents. After the war, great parts of Germany’s cities and infrastructure laid in ruin. There was real poverty. Shame about instigation all of this disaster prevents recovering from these wounds, that need to heal too. However, Germany did a great thing. Exemplary for the rest of the world! It deemed acknowledging its wickedness more important than the wallowing in its own sufferings.
This wisdom and righteousness is no common good yet. The Poles still mourn how they, the Slavs, suffered under Nazi racism. And they did. They insist that the Nazi death camps on their soil are called German death camps. And they are right. However, they fail to acknowledge that so many of these camps were there, enabled by a deep tradition of Antisemitism. The Dutch population would not have tolerated such mass murder around. Yes, many Poles were not Antisemites. Most acknowledged righteous Gentiles are … Poles! Something to be proud of! Still, they were not the whole story. They were still the exceptionals.
The Japanese now identify with Israel because they were war victims “too” (the nuclear bombardments on Hiroshima and Nagasaki are truly embarrassing racist war crimes, for which the US never apologized) and look how the Jewish Nation manage to rebuild itself after the Holocaust, they say. However, where is the acknowledgement of the terrible crimes done by the Japanese army throughout WW II all over Asia? Their camps were more cruel than the German ones (you don’t want to read the details). They were WW II aggressors – not victims!
What was wrong with this AP article, besides the Neo-Nazi propaganda headline? Its main problem was the lack of anything countering the vile propaganda. And also its bottom line was in the wrong in many ways. No, it is not proper to state that “Nazi Germany was responsible for the murder of more than 6 million Jews and other minorities before and during World War II.” Rather, Nazi Germany was responsible for the murder of 6 million Jews, known as the Holocaust, besides murdering many other minorities and political opponents and for WWII itself which cost a total of 50 million lives. After the war, Germany transformed and rehabilitated itself and became a staunch supporter of Israel. That’s what it should have read.
And maybe this last point is the reason for this unacceptable AP “reporting”. Germany is Israel’s ally; then anti-Zionist AP reporting needs to be anti-Germany too? Who knows?
For contrast, this is what AFP did with this news item (in this Arutz Sheva report): Right-wing German politician slams Berlin Holocaust memorial.
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. *
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