The March 28 paper Jerusalem Post carried an interview with Ron Cohen by Lidat Gravé-Lazi, The Jerusalem Post’s education and social welfare reporter: Construction industry in Israel very problematic, says Labor Ministry official; Occupational-safety head says country seriously lacks work supervisors. It only dealt with the need to upgrade laws, inspectors, fines and repercussions for violations of safety.
The next day, I found a JPOST EDITORIAL: CONSTRUCTION SAFETY which added statistics (international comparisons) and asked: who will take up this battle for the powerless workers against the powerful building companies.
Let me add eight more points.
These three preconditions should work preventative and help redress:
- The State of Israel was founded on Socialist principles. It is extra grave that in such a country workers’ safety would be insufficient.
- Jews know the value of life. We don’t say that we just suffer in this world on our way to Paradise which would make it all worthwhile. This world is a gift in itself to be enjoyed and in a way more valuable than the Next World. Here we can elevate our morality – after death we can’t. We should be more shocked about death than anyone, and in fact it seems we are. (Not that others don’t hurt when a loved one dies.)
- The rabbis of old tell us that one of the scandals of the building of the Tower of Babel was that when a stone would fall down, the builders regretted the loss of such a wonderful stone, but when a worker would fall off the construction, no one cared. That is meant as a reproach of such practices in general: praising the “wonderful shape of the economy” while not caring about poverty in the population. How true today! Moreover, a building story must bear on the building industry.
There are at least five more factors that help create the mess that are not named in the above two bold JPost articles:
- Israeli culture is sloppy. A real challenge for Swiss, German and Dutch immigrants, this relaxedness prevents stress but also endangers our health all day long. Watch your step, the typical Israeli tells you after you tripped.
- Centuries of non-Jews not caring about Jewish lives have taken their toll on the sensitivity of Jews regarding Gentiles. I’m sure that we still care more about other Nations than any other People on the globe. Look at how much we help other Countries and populations and how warm we are with tourists. However, while we care deeply about fellow (and not-fellow) Jews, we tend to be far less sensitive about the good fortune of “others.” On the flip side, especially non-religious Jews are more incensed about such callousness, because we know that this is not befitting. Yet, if so many Jews would die at work, we would have been less lax, sorry to say. (I’m sure anti-Semites would love to take this conclusion out of context, but being silent about it transforms my plea from hopefully informative to propaganda, and I don’t want to mislead even a little.)
- Measures for workers protection are never welcome by most workers. A helmet is bothersome. Gloves are uncomfortable. Face masks are disturbing. In every country, safety measures need to be enforced on the workers by the employer and the employer by the state, or they will not be heeded. Workers learn too good that they are inferior and replaceable. (And don’t blame the victim of oppression.)
- Religions and other thought systems than capitalism could increase workers’ feelings of self-worth. Unfortunately, they can also diminish them. Regular Muslims think that G-d is so powerful, that they have no choice, it’s all supposedly decided from On High. In the East, the idea about Predestination is strong too. Most workers at building sites are Muslims and Asians. (And European Christian are taught that this vale of tears is not that important.) We need to teach them the Jewish notion of Free Will: that G-d decides but takes into account what we try to do and that every minute of life is priceless. We all have decisive powers Above!
- Many regular Israeli Jews see workers on building sites. How difficult is it to grab a bottle of water, a thermos with tea, a few cups, some cookies (not during the Ramadan – this year about May 26 – June 25), and have tea with them. (They will fear to be poisoned if you don’t partake yourself. If you are a woman, make sure that they don’t misunderstand your intentions; go with a friend or stay in public view.) Then, in a friendly chat, ask them: don’t you have a helmet, gloves, masks? Do you know what will happen with your loved ones when you (literally) drop dead? You can add a piece of Jewish advertising saying: the rabbis teach us not to complain to G-d about injury after you refused to protect yourself. Even if not all would shape up after that one time, the fact that you showed that you care and your smile might have far-reaching consequences eventually. And you can repeat this until it helps. (Ah, you don’t speak Arabic, Romanian, or Chinese? I need to tell Jews to talk with their hands? And cookies and smiles work in every language.)
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
