The news constantly asks us to (or hopes we don’t) wreck our brains.
Return of art and artifacts removed from their homes?
I’m not going to talk about what is lawful and unlawful because laws can be arbitrary and unjust. Four cases by way of example:
The British [colonial] Museum holds art from all over the world when colonialism was standard and fine. How could that still be OK in 2019?
In fact, 90% of African art is displayed outside Africa. Now France wants to return it or compensate Africa. But the rest of Europe doesn’t agree.
Museums everywhere hold art stolen from Holocaust victims; sometimes a judge rules for returning and sometimes not. Theft is not always theft?
The Netherlands have a commission deciding if stolen museum art is not too vital for public display to be returned to its owners or their heirs — without reparation! The US should steal all top Dutch museological art and not return any of it because in the US, more museum-goers will see it.
Going through a collection of all art by Van Gogh, I’m stunned that so much of it is not in the two Van Gogh museums in the Netherlands. Legally bought away but meanwhile lacking in their country of origin.
Palestinians have claimed the Dead Sea Scrolls. Found “on Palestinian Land.” Obviously ridiculous as they are as Jewish as anything could be.
My point: laws generally follow public opinion. Once we get a sharper picture of what is true and right, laws will shape up too.
This summer, 10 Million Passengers not to pass through Ben Gurion
Talking about honesty: do you remember I warned you never to trust any figure in a news report?
“10 Million Passengers expected to pass through Tel Aviv’s Airport in the next four months” is patently false. Don’t set up a tourist business yet.
10 million is the number of plane seats of planes arriving or leaving Ben Gurion Airport. However, most tourists will come and go, most Israelis who will go on vacation will return. So, we’re talking about 5 million people really. Maybe 2.5 million Israelis will go abroad so, over 4 months, we’ll have about 2.5 million tourists. Half a million are Jews who’ll come for the High Holidays. Half a million tourists per month in the high season. Hardly more than previously. Your new tourist shop is not yet needed.
Quadrupling Jews?
Here’s another statistical “miracle” from a report about a survey.
“Counting up all Orthodox Jews, we find 79,000 “grandparents,” nearly 200,000 “parents,” and over 340,000 children. In other words, over two generations, the Orthodox pretty much quadrupled in size [sic].”
The oldest generation seems to have had more than four children each couple (two parents, four kids is doubling the size of the new generation). And this middle generation had three-and-a-half kids per couple. But the population didn’t grow four times as large. The number of kids did.
The reporter compares the children of two generations ago with the three generations alive now. That’s not fair. To compare, you need to also look at the three generations alive then. If there was no growth in population two generations ago, as the writer suggests but doesn’t show, then two generations ago there were then (roughly) 80,000 kids, 80,000 parents and 80,000 grandparents. That makes that the population doubled, not quadrupled (from thrice 80,000 to (1+2+3.5=) 6.5 times 80,000). If from the presently alive grandparents generation many have passed away already, the relative growth becomes even less.
Religious Coercion in Israel worse than in Syria?
The best of US pollsters have now concluded that Israel is worse than Syria in terms of religious freedom. Anyone who knows anything about current affairs understands that that can’t be true. Millions have fled Israel and here, strangers try to get in illegally. Where was their mistake?
First of all, they didn’t investigate freedom of religion but freedom from religion. Atheists have it a bit harder in Israel because there is no civil marriage, not a perfect separation between state and religion, etc.
What was not understood by the researchers was that Israel has better freedom of religion than any country I know. Workers get the days off that are holy to their religion: Jews on Shabbat and Jewish Holidays, Christians on their Sundays and Holidays, Muslims for their Feasts, etc. Foreign workers get their national holidays free, all with continued payment.
In the Netherland, I had to spend all my yearly vacation days on taking off for Jewish Holidays. On the other hand, my colleagues loved it that I’d work on their shifts during Christian Holidays for which I would not only get more hours but also 200% salary. Still, no days for taking a vacation left.
Yes, all marriages and funerals, and (optional) family law, are religion-based in Israel, but each according to their religion. No freedom from but surely freedom for religion. On top of that, here no one cares if a person in the street or a civil servant helping you is called Chris, Moish or Achmed, and wears Muslim, Jewish or Christian symbols.
Yes, Shabbat public transportation doesn’t run, stores are closed, hospitals only deal with emergencies, etc. But it’s the only (tiny) country in the world that gives such prominence to the Jewish Tradition, so maybe that’s not so bad. For now, not millions are fleeing Israel.
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
