Trump appointed Ambassador Nikki Haley and stands with Israel.
He appointed Orthodox-Jewish David Friedman Ambassador to Israel.
He is slowly moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
He cleaned out the State Department and for the first time, it expressed solidarity with Israel when its citizens were assaulted by 500+ rockets.
He doesn’t do moral equivalence between Chamas/the PA and Israel.
He freed Rubashkin (but does not permit Pollard to move to Israel).
His trusts most his daughter and son-in-law who are Orthodox Jews.
He’s willing to postpone his ME peace plan now it inconveniences Israel.
His approval rating in Israel is 88%.
What’s wrong with US Jews that in big numbers they dislike him?
He suggested in the election race that that was because we don’t need his money. Let’s hope he was joking.
Those Jews (and Gentiles) who wonder out loud what’s our problem, really seem to have no clue. So, I will tell them.
- Two Groups We Care About
Jews are a People, not a religious group. An important part of Jewish culture is a religion, called Judaism. Judaism has two tasks for Jews. To stand with the Jews and to stand with everyone else.
This is for most people so complicated that they only do one of the two. They picked and chose. But that’s not proper for Orthodox Jews.
And Trump chose the Jews and trashes almost every other oppressed group. That must bother Jews. Not because we are non-partisan. But we are the only People with a prescribed dual loyalty obligation: to ourselves and to all humans. We must care about everyone. Or we won’t be proper Jews.
- Immorality Threatens Our Long-Term Safety
Rulers electing the Jews as their confidants is nothing new. However, that’s meant to show the populace that they are the true bloodsuckers. When the nation revolts, the rich will point at the Jews and the common men will be angry at them instead. The old trick.
And you can’t blame the Jews for seeking safety. And it’s not their fault that only the powerful are willing to promise protection – for as long as it lasts. (Help liberate the Jews from this kidnapping by embracing them unconditionally forever. Blaming the hostages won’t help.)
Every time Trump says or does something racist or sexist or lies or is uncouth or steals from the poor to give to the rich, he besmirches the Jews trough us being associated with him. Read how he tries to get away with murder.
- Disaster Donald
Some Jews don’t go by their feelings or dreams but rather look at reality.
Trump is not very different from Madoff. He’s ruthlessly scheming until it all will come crashing down. He did make the very rich even richer but at the expense of an enormous rise of the national debt. Sometimes we see already how shaky this fake financial “success” is.
When a bull is racing around through a china shop, don’t order its porcelain. When Trump is over, his legacy will be a big mess everywhere.
Him liking Jews doesn’t make him into a saint or wizard.
Cut Your Losses
We need to cut our losses and chose what is humane and social, just and fair, and wise and real. Trump belongs to none of these words.
The Israeli public likes that he’s a Zionist and his incivilities and stupidities often get lost in translation. Don’t blame us that we like him better than Obama who really betrayed us (in his last day in office). But in any case, do what you gotta do: oppose him. He’s not bringing safety; he’s creating ruins. He’s an ignorant clown, stumbling through the political landscape, being a useful idiot for the right until he’s ousted. And with the right having its soul sold to this charlatan, we must be afraid that the next administration will be left – and again anti-Israel.
The sooner that Trump is gone, the greater the chance that the right will win the next elections which will be better for Israel’s survival and prosperity.
Unrelated (but about Trump): If I were a cartoonist and could draw well, this I would draw: A prostitute leaning against a doorpost who with fluttering eyes tries to entice a guy passing by. She says: I have the best information to nail Prince M. On one leg it says: Erdoğan, on the other: CIA. But the guy, clearly Trump, says: I’m not interested in nailing him.
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
