THIS IS A FAITHFUL DUTCH TRANSLATION OF THIS EARLIER TOI BLOGPOST OF MINE
Naar verwachting wordt Geert Wilders’ neppartij (met hem als enig geregistreerde lid – echt waar) in de aanstaande verkiezingen van 15 maart de grootste partij in het Nederlandse parlement. Het partijprogramma verscheen op een kantje A4 – niet een samenvatting – de complete tekst, met als voornaamste punt: Nederland Weer Van Ons. En daar ben ik het mee eens!
Wilders wijgert om uit te leggen hoe hij het voor elkaar wil krijgen om de Koran te verbieden en alle moskeeën te sluiten, terwijl in onze grondwet de vrijheid van meningsuiting, van vereniging en van religie verankerd zijn. Hij heeft gelijk: Zeuren over hoe hij zijn visie in de praktijk wil brengen is een elitair rookgordijn om te verhullen dat andere politici zijn ideeën afwijzen.
Wilders deed een brilliante zet toen hij besloot om absoluut niet: concrete ideeën te gaan uitleggen, deel te nemen aan debatten, of interviews te gaan geven, want anderen zouden dan alleen maar zijn standpunten gaan afbreken. Hun houding is niet constructief. Waar het echt om gaat is de grote lijn, het gevoel dat alle realistische Nederlandse kiezers hebben: we zijn het helemaal zat, Wilders moet Minister-Prisident worden want hij kan Nederlands oude glorie herstellen.
(Zijn verkiezingsleus zou nooit kunnen zijn “Maak Nederland weer groot,” want dat zou betekenen dat we al onze voormalige koloniën zouden moeten herwinnen, en hoewel daar niet veel Marokkanen zijn, lezen veel van hun inboorlingen daar de Koran, en dan zouden we 50 jaar voor zijn voorspelling al een Moslimmeerderheid krijgen, dus dat is geen goed idee.)
Nou is een belangrijke vraag: welk Nederland willen we terug? Niet de Republiek der Verenigde Nederlanden met haar Tachtigjarige onafhankelijkheidsoorlog, met een gemiddelde levensverwachting van 25 jaar. Niet de jaren 1940, toen de Joden werden afgevoerd haast zonder tegenwerking of verzet, en toen Nederlandse soldaten werden gedwongen om duizenden burgers in Indonesië te doden, om te zien of de overlevenden dan misschien hun land als kolonie van Nederland zouden wilden laten doorgaan.
Dus welk Nederland wil Geert Wilders terug? Vast hetzelfde Nederland dat we ons beiden nog zo goed herinneren van tientallen jaren geleden. ►Waar het niet alleen onbeschaafd en “ongekend” was maar zelfs ondenkbaar om hele delen van de bevolking te beledigen vanwege hun religie of huidskleur. (Zelfs naar iemands huidskleur verwijzen werd als totaal onbeschoft gezien.) ►Waar vrijheid van meningsuiting nooit kon betekenen dat je anderen maar zou mogen kwetsen. ►Waar politici misschien konden schreeuwen maar nooit iets dat fascistisch of racistisch zou kunnen klinken. ►Waar vriendelijkheid en beleefdheid belangrijker waren dan wat men te zeggen had en schreeuwen werd gezien als bewijs van onvermogen en extremisme. ►Waar intolerantie werd beschouwd als bewijs van verwerpelijke vreemdheid aan de Nederlandse cultuur.
Nederland vond altijd al: Aanpassen of oprotten. En zo is Wilders niet. Zijn fanatisme en onbeschoftheid zijn onvereenigbaar met de Nederlandse cultuur en geschiedenis! Nederland Weer Van Ons! Laat Wilders teruggaan naar Indië!
PS: Een overtuigend bewijs van Wilders z’n onverenigbare vreemdsoortigheid is dat hij alle molens weg wil (punt 7). Denkt hij soms dat Nederland een soort Indonesië is? Wilders, weg met jou! Nederland Weer Van Ons!
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
