Are you counting?
- Where is Jonathan Pollard? Why is he still not allowed to make Israel his home? What a disrespect for the Knesset that unanimously requested his total release. No one is winning by having him confided to the US. No one will protest when he is set free. If he’s our friend, why does he keep us (and Jonathan) waiting?
- What’s so wrong with moving the US embassy to Jerusalem? President Trump has been sweet to Israel and the Jews from the start, which did not stop Palestinian leaders from declaring their hopes in him anyway. Why would such a supportive move hamper the peace process?
- How could one rightly-so much-applauded token bombardment on the Syrian nerve gas spreading air force be enough, President Trump? There is a jail in Syria where prisoners are executed and cremated every day, Nazi style – your own State Department made the proofs public. Why can’t the US bomb that jail? Jews don’t like genocide, random executions and crematoria to hide mass murder, from anyone on anyone. We have this angle of hating any wrong – not just those performed against us.
- How did President Trump defy the whole world, science and common sense and abandon the Paris Accords? Jews do not like abuse of the environment, nor can they trust someone who does whatever he likes and suits him with total disregard of anything that does not suit him. Old-fashioned monarchs acted like that – and held Jews hostage to their absolute power. We had to honor them but we did not like them.
- Why does President Trump keep harping on mistrusting Muslims? We Jews dislike with a vengeance any discrimination on the basis of religion. Especially from a country that refused Jews fleeing Hitler. We have such a good memory.
- How is President Trump eroding US social safety, like healthcare for all and job safety regulations, just for the financial gain of the happy few? Jews believe in taking responsibility for the less fortunate too. That makes society more just and stable – also for the rich.
- Saying the opposite. President Trump seems good at it. It sometimes works well in negotiations with liars. We know that it is common practice to bend the truth in business, court rooms and politics, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t notice and would like it. We distrust people who don’t say what they believe and don’t do what they say. Especially if they are rulers.
- Why would President Trump pressure Israel to get to a peace agreement with the Arab Palestinian leadership? Israeli Jews want peace more than anyone else. Why then behind-closed-doors pressure us?
- Why does President Trump call the free press the enemy of the state? All Jews think for themselves and have our own opinion, and we do not want it to be stifled. Your visit to Israel was full of smiles and good words, but had no even one small press conference. We call that a bad press.
We Jews are not impossible to please. You should just make an effort.
All we ask is: free Jonathan Pollard, move the US embassy to Jerusalem, bomb the Syrian prison/crematorium, readopt the Paris Accords, stop trashing Muslims, healthcare for all, reinstating job safety regulations, spare us the spin, stop pressuring Israel’s leaders for concessions, and honor the free press as any good sport honors his opponents.
Would that be too much to ask? Jews have been around a few years. If you can’t do the above, you predictably will be out of a job soon – which would be a pity with all the potential wasted. Have you ever listened to the Jews and come out bad? Now then, trust us. Follow our lead and you’ll be honored for it. Don’t and then don’t say you weren’t warned.
We accept you as our friend but we would like you to behave as one too. That means making everyone happy, with deeds, at the expense of no one. That is not impossible. Try it – you will love it after you get the hang of it. It suits your personality – to hell with the wallet. And it will look good on you in the history books too.
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