I didn’t come to the United States to fight President Trump or his plan. The president is very friendly to Israel and I appreciate it very much. I also do not intend to wage a fight against the Israeli government in the US.
ex-PM Ehud Olmert
So what did Olmert go to the US for if not to give legitimacy to Abbas?
According to his own words, “to remind the Israeli public that if it is possible to go to negotiations to reach a peace agreement, then he is the only partner.”
The pipedream of those not grounded in reality and oblivious if not allergic to any lesson from history, shows in these sentences starting with “If.”
There is no will in the Arab world to accept a Jewish State of any kind.
Therefore, speculating what could happen if the Aran Nation would welcome the Jewish People is malicious. These are not words of idealists but of rejecters of the reality of antisemitism. They are not a key to a solution. They are part of the problem.
What Olmert does is not just showing naivety. He fosters doubt in the hearts of Jews who rather dream of peace than war. Doubts about a hard reality we need to face — without giving up on our ideals (of peace).
And that’s what’s so dangerous and malicious in the worlds of these ultra-leftists, the Looney Left — that get much too much media attention.
They sow doubt. The Rabbis teach us that doubt is our greatest enemy (Amalek). It weakens our resolve to do what is needed but uncomfortable.
Not to be confused with good doubt that leads to understanding others, mildness, and peace.
We should not be fanatics who know everything with such certainty that it leaves no room for different viewpoints — ultimately leading to war.
But we generally should not hesitate to call a spade a spade or recognize that desperate times require drastic measures.
Olmert also said that he will not hold a joint press conference with Abbas. Which he then did. (This shows he’s not naive but shrewd. Is he then evil?)
Olmert went to the US to tell the Israeli electorate that the time for peace might have come. He’s a false prophet and a dangerous one at that.
Worse, Olmert is meeting with Abbas in NY to help foster an Arab Palestinian State using Trump’s peace plan as I warned before.
And now, Abbas has told the UN Security Council a message for the Israeli people. Why he didn’t go meet Netanyahu or Rivlin is anyone’s guess. He spoke for peace, against terrorism, against antisemitism. Listen to his 37-minute speech if you still somewhat believe the racist prejudice that Arabs are stupid. US President Trump, a self-described very stable genius, could only dream of lying so well. But you have to give it to Hitler. At least, he was proud enough to be open about his true sentiments and goals.
As the seeing goes, beware of the geese, when the fox preaches.
Meanwhile, I have a novel peace plan. Let all Arabs in the Lebanon, Jordan and greater Israel vote on if they would want to have the place they live now become part of a country called Palestine, led by the present Arab Palestinian leadership, or of Israel, lead by the present Israeli population, with a path to citizenship for them. The ballad must be secret and counting of votes must be checked by people who are not-anti-Zionists. Call it the Three-in-One State solution. It will compel most Jews to make aliyah. After kicking out the terrorists and dictators and learning to be allies with the Jews, free elections can be held in Arab areas for national independence.
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
