Don’t let anti-Semites and their sentiments ruin the case of Poland

I distinguish between anti-Jewish bigotry from an average person and virulent hatred by hard-core anti-Semites. How to spot the latter?

Dishonesty

When I studied the stories of prominent anti-Semites, I noticed that they have one glaring thing in common. They’re expert liars.

Now, we can have a dispute on who sees things right. I don’t claim my writing to be the final word on anything. But at least, I try to write about reality as I know it.

Now, you could say that people who constantly seem to manipulate the facts and minds around them have their own truth, and are no different from the average person in any dispute. This is demonstrably not true. These expert liars do know the difference between truth and falsehood (though sometimes they get carried away by the “beauty and logic” of their own lies). How do I know? When you lie to them they react as bitten by a snake. Their anger knows no end or limit. They are not confused about the truth. They only try to make everyone else confused.

These are people with an agenda to manipulate. They will sow discontent but are not really sharing their stories or emotions. We’re not supposed to know their sentiments because they are just racist or anti-Semitic or otherwise oppressive.

Hardcore Polish anti-Semites

So when someone stands up to supposedly argue the case of the average Pole in WW II, try to figure out if they are well-meaning emotional people trying to convey their legitimate side of the story or cold manipulative snakes.

And what do these haters of truth try to hide? That anti-Semitism was widespread and is widespread in Poland. And they hide that not because they are ashamed of this bigotry. No, they deny Jew hatred because they like it. They hate Jews and do not want to admit and give up on that.

Beware of Poles who falsely claim to be wounded by a suspicion that they are Jew haters. They might not be offended but rather proud of it. Don’t argue with them. They are liars for whom words mean nothing.

I have no sympathy for liars whose whole effort is to mislead – except for that I mourn that they chose evil and are wasting their days on it – who would be envious about their lives?

Poles are not the only Nation whose case is ruined by anti-Semites and their sentiments. The Arab Palestinian cause also seems to draw (non-Palestinian) Jew haters to its plight, as is clear when we listen to many BDS proponents.

Polish Politics

The attitude and awareness of Polish politics is wanting, to say the least.

After approving outlawing mentioning alleged Polish complicity with the Holocaust, now the Polish government has declared “Hold your anti-Semitic jokes for the moment.” That’s not what is needed — a cover-up.

It turns out that the new law makes that even Holocaust survivors better watch out what they say in describing their experience as Polish Jews.

The latest news is that Poland practically wants to forbid export of kosher meat which shows that it still has little awareness (or much fondness) of pestering Jews.

And the ad from the Polish government that it has sent to all Israeli Internet users to placate and inform us, actually just annoys, as it equates their (real) war suffering with that of the Jews under the Holocaust. They don’t even seem to know the first rule, that nothing equates that.

But the unbelievable worst is of course, a Polish coalition MP who blames the Jews for the Holocaust.

The Average Poles

One could argue and differ on the role of the Polish People in WW II.

For Poles and Jews this is an emotional subject, so lots of stories may have to be shared before people can listen well enough to each other’s side of the story. Until they are ready, disputes are to be expected. And that’s OK.

I have a lot of empathy for people who lost everything in the war, even if they would have been anti-Semites or people who did not help Jews.

I refuse to hate Poles even if all of them would hate Jews. Then I would only feel bad for them. But I’m convinced that they don’t all hate Jews.

For starters, the RC Church, the dominant religion in Poland, after WW II, has repaired its relationship with the Jews.

Further, Poland holds the world record in the number of Righteous Allies to Jews who risked their own lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.

However, the issue is not how wrong Poles were or weren’t during WW II. Rather, Poles must acknowledge anti-Semitism of centuries, Jew hatred before, during and after WW II, including now, and commit to uprooting the Oldest Hatred in the world. A job that Poland must do.

Not because all other nations have done so already. My native the Netherlands has not even gotten started.

On social media there has been much uptick in Poles who do not just defend Poland but rather attack Jews. This does not help their case.

I’m looking forward to hear more from Poles who love Poland enough to want to clean it from this unbecoming hatred against the Chosen People.

I would like to hear more from Poles who like Jews and are already taking responsibility for uprooting present Jew hatred. I’m sure there are many (though never enough, of course).

Let us focus on reaching out to the average Poles. They are no doubt ready to shed their anti-Semitic heritage that they know doesn’t look good on them. In the end, their politicians will have to follow them.

Just as a fellow blogger argued today, at length and eruditely: leave it to the Poles.

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