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

Nice Liberal-Orthodox rabbis give LGBTQ+s nothing

The oppressed need activist allies, not pacifying charmers

To clarify things, let’s compare it to allies of other oppressed groups.

Racism

Just imagine. A White person gives a talk to a Black group. “I don’t even see you’re Black. For me, you’re human like all of us.” But then also says: “I love being around Black people. I love you the most.”  Should the audience kiss his feet? Should they break out in songs of praise? I don’t think so.

If they have any pride, they should drily remark: “Thank you for being an ally. Now, go mobilize and cure the rest of the Whites of their racism. They need you more than we need you. We can cheer ourselves up. We don’t need a nice niche to sit in. We need the whole world to stop killing us.”

It’s a big White mistake to be an ally with Blacks because you pity them. Rather, it is an ally’s task to rid all Whites of this terrible arrogance and the world of institutionalized racism. And not to be the lovely White exception to try and escape the guilt feelings and hard work to right the world.

Sexism

Just imagine. A man gives a lecture to a group of women. “I don’t even see you are women. For me, you’re human like all of us.” But then also says: “I love being around women. I love you the most.”  Should the audience kiss his feet? Should they break out in songs of praise? I don’t think so.

If they have any pride, they should drily remark: “Thank you for being an ally. Now, go mobilize and cure the rest of the men of their sexism. They need you more than we need you. We can cheer ourselves up. We don’t need a nice niche to sit in. We need the whole world to stop killing us.”

It’s a big male mistake to be an ally with women because you pity them. Rather, it is an ally’s task to rid all men of this terrible arrogance and the world of institutionalized sexism. And not to play the lovely male exception to try and escape the guilt feelings and hard work to right the world.

Christian Antisemitism

Just imagine. A Christian gives a lecture to a group of Jews. “I don’t even see you are Jews. For me, you’re human like all of us.” But then also says: “I love being around Jews. I love you the most.”  Should the audience kiss his feet? Should they break out in songs of praise? I don’t think so.

If they have any pride, they should drily remark: “Thank you for being an ally. Now, go mobilize and cure the rest of the Christian supremacists. They need you more than we need you. We can cheer ourselves up. We don’t need a nice niche to sit in. We need the whole world to stop killing us.”

It’s a big Christian mistake to be an ally with Jews because you pity them. Rather, it is an ally’s task to rid all Christians of this terrible arrogance and the world of institutionalized Jew-hatred. And not to be the lovely Gentile exception to escape the guilt feelings and hard work to right the world.

Jewish Queerphobia

Just imagine. A cis-straight rabbi gives a talk to an LGBTQAI+ group. “I do not even see you’re Queer. For me, you’re all human just like me.” But then also says: “I love being around Queers. I love you the most.”  Should the listeners kiss his feet, and break out in songs of praise? I don’t think so.

If they have any pride, they should drily remark: “Thank you for being an ally. Now, go mobilize and cure the rest of the rabbis of their normalcy. They need you more than we do. We can cheer ourselves up. We don’t need a nice niche to sit in. We need the whole world to stop killing us.”

It’s a big rabbinic mistake to be an ally with Gays+ because you pity them. Rather, it is an ally’s task to rid all rabbis of this terrible arrogance and the world of institutionalized normality. And not to play the lovely rabbinic exception to escape the guilt feelings and hard work to right the world.

Any LGBTQ+ person with a grain of self-worth doesn’t need to be told that their gender and sexual orientation don’t count for some others.

Being nice is not helping. Gays+ are nice enough.

Denying the murderous oppression does not help at all.

Reducing Gays+ to Straights with a better dress code does not help.

Not fighting homophobia in religion and the world does not help anyone.

Dignified Gays+ don’t need warm tolerance from someone for whom LGBTQIA+ “is not a problem.” What’s needed is a fierce rabbi who has problems with his colleagues. Those who say: It’s a capital sin. And not just the non-Orthodox who’ve done away with Orthodox Halachah.

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
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