It was a great move to give Jonathan Pollard honorary citizenship. BTW: Where is he? Why is he still not free to move to Israel?!
Of course, he’s Jewish and US UN Ambassador Nikki Haley is not. And he was targeted unfairly by the US justice system and Haley is celebrated widely. But that shouldn’t stop Israel from giving her the same honors.
Don’t we have plenty of anti-Zionist enemies (Jewish and Gentile, religious and not so religious) living here legally? Why not start changing that balance on the non-Jewish side?
Gentiles who try not to convert Jews to something else and who are humble long-time proven Zionists should be welcomed to make aliyah. If we need one group of people here to expand, it’s Israel advocates.
Some of them might actually make Israel their (second) home. But even when they won’t, won’t it be great to call them ours? This besides, no doubt, them being thrilled by such a move?
Thanking them, clearly, is not enough.
(Of course, any family member of theirs who is not an Israel advocate is not welcome and proselytizing should be rewarded by expulsion. I would also exclude people who belong to groups who pray, pay or work for or dream of converting Jews. They love us like a person who says: I love fish, and then proceeds eating it. And no thank you to people who “love Israel” because they mistakenly see it as voice for their Islamophobia. If Israel’s majority is anything, then it’s against unfairness and bigotry.)
This recognition should be awarded by a Knesset committee, ratified by a Knesset majority, to avoid prime ministers using this as a tool to placate foreign dignitaries not (yet) deserving so.
Why stop at giving our best friends honorary doctorates?
We may find these spokespersons for Israel not only among politicians. There are religious leaders, royals, teachers, bloggers and ordinary Gentile citizens in many countries who dedicate their life’s energies to standing up for Israel no matter what.
I’m always annoyed when populations and publications honor dead Jewish Nazi victims but have no sympathy for living proud Zionist Jews. Why only honor WW II protectors of Jews and not also current ones?
Of course, it is beyond enormous when Gentiles risked or gave their lives to save Jews. But how about present-time long-term life-long dedication to the Jewish State? That should count for something too.
What easier move than to stand with the people who stand with us?!
Israel aims to speak for all Jews. Well then, let’s do it!
Give our true friends the same immigration rights as Jews.
Down with goyophobia!
(Full disclosure: I have a friend who is a Dutch humble brave teacher of religion in a Dutch Christian school where he teaches students (most of them Muslim!) about Judaism and respect for Jews. He takes them on tours to the Jewish museum and lets them build a sukah. He never talks about his own beliefs but when I asked him, I found that he is completely against converting Jews and believes that Jews for Jesus are entirely mistaken. He’s crazy about Jews and Israel. His home in the Netherlands is filled with mezuzot, shofars, megilot, chanukiyot, etc. He knows all kashrut laws. He’s flown to Israel over a 100 times, spending here his every vacation and has many friends here but could never settle here while a Jewish anti-Zionist is always welcome. That’s illogical.)
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
