How come Britons and Palestinians get what Basques and Catalonians and Kurds don’t?

How come Britons get from Europe support to go their own way but Basques, Catalonians and Kurds don’t? It’s called dirty political games.

The short answer is that, 70 years after Auschwitz, still the world is ruled based on greed and opportunism, and not on truth or justice.

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What nation should have a right to stop another from independence? The chutzpah to keep other people bear-hugged not only smacks of ugly supremacy but also of “good-old” colonialism.

Yes, there is more than colonialism of far-away countries: exploitation of next-door neighbors or a country’s own provinces. This is just the old exploitation disguised as “national unity.”

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Look at Friesland. The Frisians are a proud and brave People with its own history and language. The remnant of their once-enormous lands is now located in part of the Northern Netherlands. They never ask for independence. You know why? Because they are treated with dignity. Local and provincial discussions and reports are done in Frisian. Not only is the use of Frisian tolerated – it’s stimulated by the national authorities. And with it, dialects in the Netherlands receive more and more recognition and support too.

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Arab Palestinians, I hear everyone think, what about them? Aren’t they oppressed by being denied independence? Doesn’t that seem the inescapable conclusion after what I wrote above? Well, it’s not. With Jews, things are often the opposite as with all other Nations.

Surely, if Palestinian Arabs want their own State, they should have one.

However, If they would be better treated by the State of Israel, Arab Palestinians may want no independence anymore. Well, that is the case for many Arabs in Israel already.

In any case, this idea of Two States for Two Nations is heavily influenced by the following four points:

Arab-Muslim centuries-old hatred for the Jews. That is what makes peaceful coexistence already impossible for 120 years. It doesn’t even matter if it’s in one State or two.
The Arab-Muslim’s custom (that too many but not all Muslims or Arabs follow) to kill to show opposition to ideas is unacceptable for Jews. It must change, whether for a one or two state coexistence.
Arabs are regionally vastly in the majority. Though Palestinian Arabs get to play the underdog, it is Israel’s independence that is disputed all the time. Even with Israel being established, the basic threat to statehood has not changed by the founding of the Jewish State.
The moral equivalence card is played all the time. But there is no equivalence. Many Palestinian Arabs would love to see all Jews dead; the reverse is not true. Jews just want to live in peace. As soon as the Jewish State is supported by an Arab majority, an Arab Palestinian State will not be a problem. But not instead of the Jewish State, of course.

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If one would set out to correct all nonsense any individual wrote on the Internet, there would be no time left to sleep, eat or breath. Yet, if someone in English in a blog of a serious newspaper would claim baloney about the Netherlands, I might react. As now.

In a Jerusalem Post blog post, I read a prominent quote from a “Dutch thinker.” Besides many Dutch people who call that a contradiction in terms, the blogger lets us know that the genius is “famous.” He doesn’t say famous where, but could we assume that he’s well-known in the Low Countries? What’s his name? “E. Rotterdam.”

I lived for 40 years in the Netherlands and have never heard of “E. Rotterdam.” I’ve heard of East Rotterdam. What’s worse, looking at Dutch family tree research did not reveal one E. Rotterdam in Dutch history. The guy probably never existed. If it’s a guy. That could explain the initial instead of a given name in full. Yet, he might mean: Erasmus from Rotterdam, but that’s not E. Rotterdam.

Erasmus did write in a letter to a friend: “treat men and things as though we held this world the common fatherland of all.” But is that the same as the above-mentioned blogger says? (The English Wikipedia text on Erasmus refrains from discussing his relationship to Jews. One needs to go to the Dutch page to see how his Judaeophobe position is not sweet, but still less bad than Luther’s.)

I read in the aforementioned blog: “An intensification of separatist tendencies is a great danger and alarm in the contemporary world. If you do not study and prevent this process in time, in the near future it can spread itself.” And that is a great danger? More independent countries?

He claims that “famous Dutch thinker E. Rotterdam held that changes in state borders lead to war.”

After quoting at length an avalanche of speakers and ungrammatical English verbosity (“the creation of a territory of one state of another state within the framework of the state of another state”) we find another philosopher who never existed (according to the Internet): “the famous French thinker Emmerich Cruse,” whom the blogger quotes to strengthen his point.

And this all, because the blogger supports Azerbaijan to continue its occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh, which it flooded with its own citizens. It’s a pity that a respectable newspaper internet site lends its columns for the defense of colonialism and oppression in 2017.

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My conclusion? Let all national, cultural, language, dialectal, sentimental groups have their own state if they so want! After receiving independence, they can opt to cooperate inside of trade alliances. But not through enforcement, oppression, colonialism, imperialism or genocide. Those days should be over.

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