search
Moshe-Mordechai van Zuiden
Psychology, Medicine, Science, Politics, Oppression, Integrity, Philosophy, Jews -- For those who like their news and truths frank and sharp

Netanyahu is handling the pandemic beautifully!

Public support for Israel’s PM has plummeted, according to polls. He points out that Israel is doing fine but that is not what everyone wants to hear. He did fine. And it’s just a short-lived dip from mean incitement.

Netanyahu’s position was from the start: first save lives because if you first save the economy, you’re going to down the economy more than the other way around. And, of course, there is the old Jewish principle that saving human lives goes before almost anything else. And no restrictive measures were announced that would not be heeded.

The Austrian leader has thanked Netanyahu for making that clear to him, saving thousands of Austrian lives. But a prophet is typically not honored in his own country. It is overlooked easily that Bibi also saved 1000s of Israeli lives. But he did. Many of the mistakes he’s blamed for he did not make. And the baseless incitement against him is on an all-time high.

And what to say to those who want to say that now the economy is in shambles and we’re also all going to die in a second wave?

1. The economy will recover. In half a year, no one will remember the economic hardship we went through. It will get better.

It is important to support people now without a job. But clearly, in the near future, Israel will again have busses running, plane loads of tourist entering and leaving, have restaurants and event halls functioning, etc.

2. There is no second killer wave. Look at the next two recent stats.

WORLDOMETER: Coronavirus: World / Countries / Israel, July 16, 2020.

The top one shows an explosion of new cases of the second wave. Much higher than the first wave’s height.

But the bottom one shows the number of deaths, despite the much higher infection rates, climbing much less steep than in the first wave.

It’s possible that the death rate, lagging a few weeks behind the infection rate, will still start climbing steeply again, but that’s not to be expected.

Also, a jump in the number of cases turns out to be an artifact, not real.

In other words: We have here a second wave of a much more infectious virus that more easily infects people — to no fault of the people or the government. But, fortunately, such more-contagious microbes cannot be as deadly (as I predicted and explained 6 weeks ago: here).

At the beginning of this pandemic, we learned that the virus could survive long times on surfaces (counters, door handles). Now we know that they can still be detected after days, but they’re not that infectious there. What will save us is breathing smartly via social distancing:

  • Stay at home.
  • Avoid crowded closed places, especially for more than 15 minutes.
  • Avoid gatherings, especially mass gatherings.
  • Keep a few meters distance from others’ breathes.
  • Stay 15 meters away from those shouting, singing, or sporting.
  • Have all parties who meet wear facemasks or remove yourself.

If we just do that, we’ll continue to do fine in Israel.

A cure may be closer than a safe and working vaccine. Either way, this is not going to last forever. And for a next pandemic, we will be well prepared, both in knowing how to stop it socially and medically.

There is every reason to be cautious but optimistic. And there is every reason to be grateful to Israel’s leadership for not trying to please anyone but for doing the right thing consistently and continuously. Thank you!

On the financial front, Netanyahu is smart and practical enough to listen to the smartest pencil in the lot, Andrew Yang, and begin to distribute Universal Basic Income to jumpstart the economy. Good for him! He’s being accused of everything under the sun, but he just wants to do the right thing. Being popular is not his goal anymore. A true leader.

***

But, I don’t think too many people in the USA can be grateful for their president’s coronavirus response. He used to call it the China virus. That was unfounded and racist. But it would be o so real to start calling it the Trump virus for all his negligence, bullying, lying, and incompetence.

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
Related Topics
Related Posts