Recent polls suggest that no group on earth loves Donald J. Trump like Jewish Israelis. And we now also know why.
It Takes a Thug to Take out a Thug
He has boasted repeatedly that he turned a one-time one million loan from his father into a company worth billions.
But it was already public knowledge that Trump’s “vast” financial empire only exists in the tricked minds of his followers.
His election campaign he almost ran for free; upset journalist took care of daily publicity and his free twitter account did the rest.
Not just his philosophies and policies are bankrupt.
Ask him to show his tax returns.
Which makes him such a success with people whose whole business is corruption and falsehood – the Palestinian leadership. It takes one to defeat one.
But that may not be the only reason why Israeli Jews like him.
Donald Trump as a self-made-up man
New revelations have it, that he received hundreds of millions from his parents. (P)art of the deal was that the money given to him and his sibs was a tax fraud scheme. His father stole half a billion in tax money. (No doubt to Donald’s irritation, they were not the biggest schemers. Madoff stole tens of billions of which 10 billion is unrecoverable. But he robbed investors while the Trumps plundered the Forgotten Man of America.)
The above adds up to: Dumb-nald got a real fortune and gambled most of it away in lousy business deals, going bankrupt many times over.
(But who would suspect that, looking at the gold in his apartment and his name on (fewer and fewer) large buildings? Those you see, while the bankruptcies and lost casino’s, ships, planes and buildings you don’t.)
And that is what Israel is all about. At least, if we may believe the following local wisdom:
Do you know how to make a small fortune in Israel?
Come with a large one.
However, seriously, tough times for Zionists may be rapidly approaching.
Lean Years are Coming
I hope you’re enjoying the Fat Zionist Years but Lean Years are drawing near fast (compare Genesis 41:25ff).
Donald Trump is on his way out (post-2016, post-Kavanaugh midterm elections, treason, tax fraud), and when he comes down, he’ll come down like a ton of bricks.
That will mean the end of the Trump-Haley attitudes and the return of Obama-Kelly doctrine enthusiasts (they, in their last days, greatly betrayed Israel with UNSR 2334) at best. At worst it will be Palestinian-loving Zionist-hating Bernie Sanders, Heaven forbid.
So, prepare today for the lean years to come:
- Rake in as much US military support as possible (Iron Dome rockets, deep-mountain bombs) before we’re hit by a US arms embargo together with a nuclear threat from Iran.
- Become totally independent of foreign trade and food (growing our own grain) before we’re slapped with an almost global trade blockade (the Philippines will send rice).
- Don’t agree on any new “peace process” that leans on continued US support for the Jewish State because there may be no such animal.
As Kissinger once remarked, paranoids may have enemies too.
Forewarned, forearmed.
US Presidents come, US Presidents go,
But Medinat Yisrael tamid tihyi po
(the State of Israel will always be here).
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