‘In the mosque, we’re told, don’t hurt women and kids, but Hamas said kill them’

The problem seems to be antisemitism, not extremist Islam

Skip this post if you prefer labeling and hating over reflecting and hoping.

There is a lot of gray in this picture and room for hope based on facts.

The headline quote is from Hamas terrorists captured on October 7.

Most terrorists who breached the security fence on October 7 didn’t kill anyone, although they were told to do so. Some we killed or captured before they could, no doubt, but for hours, most of them had every chance to murder and didn’t. Add it up. It’s simple math. Some 1,200 dead by 3,000 infiltrators, while some of them killed dozens. The non-killers may have plundered, taken hostages, maimed, raped, tortured many, and disfigured the murdered, but did not kill. They were supposed to march on until the West Bank would join. Apparently, even hate indoctrination from the cradle still was not powerful enough to override their humanity. I’m not saying they’re innocent. When a collective mass murders, they’re all guilty of it, plus of the other many war crimes they committed. But still.

As I mentioned before, the citizens of Gaza may be as guilty as those of Nazi Germany, but the IDF will and should protect and not target them.

Absurdly, large crowds of Muslims in Western countries took to the streets screaming genocide accusing the People their buddies in Gaza tried to annihilate. But Israeli Arabs stayed very silent. While the secret service, police, and IDF were rounding up 1,500 Hamas supporters, mainly in the PA’s Wild West Bank, most Israeli Muslims turned eerily quiet. Most didn’t condemn these mass murders. Some politicians did. One Iman did. Yet, also, this time, no sweets were given out to ‘celebrate’ the massacre. Are they just scared to speak up and blame the Jews? I don’t think so. I think they’re deeply, deeply ashamed of the October 7 assault. In a new opinion poll, a record number of them now indicate they feel foremost Israeli!

NB: I’m not just highlighting there were also ‘good’ Gentiles who helped us or are against mass murder like in every group you find good people. No, I’m saying that most Israeli Muslims are deeply shocked and revolted. Comparable to 80% of all Germans being disgusted about the Holocaust.

And not only the Muslims in Israel understand this differently from their coreligionists abroad. Listen to the leaders of the Israeli Left. The always accusatory Loony Left fell silent in Hebrew. Compare Haaretz in English.

So, it is dangerous to assign empathy and decency to people eager to execute genocide. However, it’s not true every Muslim is out to kill us.

Always remember the Druze and Bedouin who are Zionists, even in death.

Let’s not deny any hope just around the corner. The Rabbis teach the Messiah is born in Sodom on the date of the Destruction of the Temple. Redemption, like defeat, may come swiftly when you expect it the least.

We seem to hurl toward the abyss of WW III. Yet, that too may change in the blink of an eye. Suddenly Putin dies. War with Ukraine stops. China decides to team up with the US. Iran stands isolated and, pressured by all other States in the region, its junta gives in to democracy, followed by China. Democracy takes a real flight, and the UN rules to expel every State until they have democracy with equality, free elections, speech, press, and assembly rights, human rights, and an independent judiciary. So, Rabbi Nachman says: ‘There is no despair.’ It’s all a figment of our imagination.

Now, become an activist and help change the course of history.

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