My ideas for better ones
I think that October 7 happened because Israel’s consensus was that only one policy can restrain populations who want to exterminate you: alternately deterring and appeasing. It worked for years, somehow.
They would start murdering Israelis until the IDF had to invade and fought until they were quiet again for a couple of years. Borders were sealed off, and imports were checked to keep out (materials to build) weapons.
In the long run, that turned out unworkable. You can’t deter those who long to die a martyr. And, somehow, Antisemites, already for millennia, all seem certain of seeing the end of the Jews. Until their dying day, no setback or reason can make them give up on their wicked pipedream.
On October 7, 2023, Bibi learned that lesson with all of us and said, Our eyes finally opened; we were going to kill all the (would-be) murderers.
The IDF planned for ten days before really entering Gaza to make sure they didn’t fall into a trap and to think about how to spare the civilians.
It worked. In 15 months, it killed, say, 20,000 terrorists and captured a couple of thousand who surrendered. The IDF lost 400 holy defenders of Israelis. The number of Gazan civilian victims stayed minimal, despite Chamas’s efforts to sacrifice them for their propaganda.
Then came Trump. Suddenly, all of Netanyahu’s red lines disappeared.
‘The Gaza-Egypt border must stay in our hands.’ He lost Gantz on that one. ‘We will not stop until all terrorists are dead.’ What about the hostages?
Now, suddenly, it’s all negotiable. What in the world happened?
This is What I Think Trump Said
“Bibi, you know you can’t kill every one of them. I have a better follow-up plan. Exchange convicted terrorists for the hostages. It’s bitter, but hey, they just rot in jail and cost you money; once they’re in the street, they’ll return to terrorism, and you can kill them. That’s a win-win. And, at least, you’ll get back as many hostages alive as now still possible.
“Then, I’ll negotiate shortly with Iran. If they don’t stop making nukes, I’ll have shipped you already the bombs to stop them. After that, no country at your borders will still dare to attack Israel. This includes Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey. They don’t need to love us; cold peace is peace too.
“Then, we’ll empty out Gaza—these people have no home to return to anyway. [This is a war crime/crime against humanity and cannot be done.] I’ll ‘convince’ Egypt and Jordan (I have good relationships with General Sisi and King Abdullah) to take the Gazans. We’ll rebuild there a Paradise. I’ll buy a condo there. Any terrorist there we’ll have killed. As long as Egypt behaves, we’ll give them tons of money to rule Gaza. They know how to deal with terrorists, and it will give the IDF a break.
“Then we’ll restart the Abrahamic Accords. Many countries would like to or will find it an honor to join a pact with the victor of Iran. We’ll give them so many enduring financial incentives, they can’t change back ever. And, like my son-in-law, they’ll make you rich beyond your wildest dreams.
“If the West Bank, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, or Syria don’t comply, we’ll give them ‘the Tehran treatment.’ No more Israeli boots on the ground.
“The US will financially demolish the UN and any worldwide and national organization that betrayed Israel, like Ireland, South Africa—all of them.
“When all is settled, we demand Jew-friendly education in every country to get to the root of the problem, so that safety for Jews may endure.
“Bibi, this way, we solve everything, including what you couldn’t solve by continuing the way you were going. We’ll share a Nobel Prize, and this all makes you come out OK in the history books. Deal?”
I find this more likely than the unthinkable that Netanyahu suddenly had given up on mantras of 15 months about the Gaza-Egypt border and (this time,) not to give up until no terrorist is left in Gaza. The surgeon who took out his prostate had not suddenly removed his spine too.
Why did he not share this thinking if that’s what’s going on? Well, as I mentioned before, it’s like a chess game. You’re not going to share your next moves while the game is still in progress.
What I regret most is:
1. Thousands of accomplished Jew-murderers back on the street;
2. It’s all about rich people first. Dictatorships will not be turned into democracies, world hunger and exploitation will continue, and US workers and unemployed will lose their last social security and health care;
3. Again, more US ultra-right-wing/fascist/Nazi support for us during their war against all non-Whites—until, which history teaches, the populous revolts and Jews will be downgraded from usable hostages to scapegoats. And this, only because the Left left Jews hanging and abandoned us again.
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You may find more controversial writings on Amazon or my own blog.
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