Peoples and leaders who are friends of the Jews

And those who once or never were friends

First of all, there are true friends with the Jews. Nothing can make them lessen their close, warm, and dependable friendship and allyship. They will stand with us through thick and thin. They can be in any antisemitic group, in the Egyptian parliament, the IJC, etc. Not only are they a relief. They also form a possibly unintended indictment against all those who fail us.

Don’t blame Peoples for their leaders or leaders for their Peoples. Each can be great or awful with Jews. There’s no one-on-one connection.

First, some Peoples and leaders are loving us for generations and hundreds of years. Pacific Islanders and Filipinos still fondly remember the Marranos.

Then there is the vast majority of the German People. It learned its lesson. Twenty percent is still Nazi, but the rest will not let them approach power. Excesses and mistakes happen but are always followed by counteraction by demonstrations, political actions, apologies, and sometimes new laws. One of its politicians could say Israel must accept a Two-State Solution, but as soon as they see that’s the same as the Final Solution, they’ll apologize.

Then Peoples are with us, but their leaders may not be. Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, the USA, the Pope. They may have an Antisemitic press, Antisemitism, and even Antisemitic leaders, but the constituents are with us. (Biden is really pro-Israel, but the anti-Israel electorate is breathing down his neck. Trump was a pro-Israel faker. After Oct. 7, he said Bibi should be executed. He did not visit. Haley or Harris were no-shows, too. The Pope, a former ‘friend,’ suddenly, like his WWII predecessor, turned ‘neutral.’)

Then, there are Israel-friendly leaders with more-or-less Antisemitic populations. Al-Sisi and the King of Morocco come to mind. Some of them may threaten Israel but never follow up. It’s for domestic consumption.

Then there are fair-weather friends. They are for Israel as long as Israel does as they tell it. They still believe in court Jews to their service in exchange for (temporary) support. They are impressed with themselves as ‘Israel’s best friends.’ But they see themselves as superior and their assistance as magnanimously ‘helping’ someone pitiful. The EU.

Then there are deeply Antisemitic Peoples with similar leaders. Jordan is an example. Yet, the late King Hussein was not a Jew-hater.

Then there are the situational enemies. When Zionists fought the British occupation, Irish nationalists were our friends but also Hitler’s. When the UK became our ally, the Irish befriended our terrorist enemy.

Then there is the opposite, Peoples without a homeland who by-and-large support Israel: the Kurds, Frisians, Armenians, Basques, and Catalonians.

Then there are new arrivals. The populist Argentinian President flew all the way to Israel to declare his solidarity after October 7, unlike his neighbor.

And then there are the new haters. South Africa has been hostile for generations, but the present level of hatred for Jews is new. Forgotten are all those South African Jews who sat in jail for fighting Apartheid. Mandela was not Antisemitic but his students went their own ‘Christian’ way.

So, don’t just talk about ‘country X’ vis-à-vis Israel. Specify if you mean its leader or its population, now or in the past.

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