Is anti-Jewish hostility up among Israeli Muslims?

There is nothing new under the sun

The Woke are often detached from reality and in denial. The anti-Woke are frequently reactionary and racist. I want my writing to be neither.

My main worry is that I detect an increase in hostility in the small number of Muslims I interact with. First of all, not everyone! In compact Hebrew: Yesh weyesh: There [are such] and there [are others] in every group.

I always greet and bless my bus drivers. They helped me, no? If they don’t respond, I still don’t regret expressing my gratefulness. Their assistance to me is greater than any lack of reciprocity. But my experience is that most bus drivers in Jerusalem thank and bless me back. And not only that. The next time I enter their bus, they smile at me and want to talk with me. Most of them are Muslim. If I’m not sure, I ask them. A Muslim will never deny it. If they ask why, I tell them: So that I know to bless you properly: Ramadan Kareem, Shabbat shalom, Happy Eastern, etc. Same with call center staff.

Until recently. Some time ago, sour faces started to dominate. Among Jews, too. We’re in a war, and people watch TV. I cannot begin to imagine what horrors, anger, lies, and despair they need to deal with on a daily basis.

But there is something new now. When I say: ‘Enjoy work’ or ‘Have a good evening,’ etc., many still look stern. On the phone, I asked: Are you still there? Sure. But no amount of friendliness will bring them to say anything pleasant, too. They helped me as they should, but to be nice? No way.

I remember in the ER. I was quite ill and scared. The lab vampire who had to take 15 blood samples did her work. But she ignored my greeting and smile, and so went my Thank you, and Have a nice day. She looked like she wanted me dead. And she was wearing Muslim headgear. Chilling.

Now, again, not everyone. I remember the bus driver I wished a Happy Ramadan after it ended. He looked puzzled. Am I too late? Yes, he said. O, I’m sorry. He smiled. Recently, I thanked a bus driver when passing his still-open front door. He raised to his toes with the broadest smile in the world, waved his whole arm, and blessed me profusely. Muslim.

Many Israeli Muslims are disgusted and insulted by what Chamas did on October 7. But, the ones I met turned kind of quiet. Were they scared we would take revenge on them? Well, no one did. They don’t know us well if they thought so. But now, it’s not silence; it’s fury and hostility. At first, I thought it was hunger pains of Ramadan. But it wasn’t. I find it scary.

I don’t know what to do about it. I’m just reporting it. I make sure I don’t exaggerate or generalize (racism) or deny (Woke). Jew-hatred is a problem of Gentiles that they need to cure. Sadly, because if we could, we would.

Generalized Muslim Jew-hatred is something Zionism struggles with already for 120+ years, exceptions aside. The Holocaust aftermath much lowered Christian Jew-hatred. Most of the Muslim world still needs to catch up.

I also reject Christians using this to prove their superiority over Muslims. After Auschwitz, some more humility would be helpful. Followers of the New Testament continuing their animosity with followers of the Koran does nothing toward the Gentile world exterminating its Antisemitism.

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