US Senator Cory Booker at AIPAC gave Israel mussar (lectured us) that we, according to our own Jewish values should be generous to the [Arab] Palestinian People. In a roaring voice, he preached at the Jewish People.
Now, let’s bypass that those who endanger Israel have no right to tell it what to do. Let’s for argument’s sake say that he is sincere and has the best in mind for the Jewish State and People. But let’s call out the chutzpah of him reading the Israeli People the riot act.
What he said so eloquently was just a sophisticated form of blaming the victim. We gave the Arab Nation the whole of Jordan, almost all of the Sinai, every grain of sand of Gaza and large parts of the West Bank. And we should be more generous?
I admit that I don’t envy the Arab Palestinians who sigh under oppression by autocratic corrupt leaders, from the PA to Chamas, from the King of Jordan to the head of Chezbollah, who don’t care about their welfare at all. Neither do I envy the citizens of Dresden, which was bombed by the Allied Forces to bring Hitler Germany to capitulation. Neither do I envy the Japanese civilians who got nuked by the US to stop the Japanese monster. But all these populations were steeped in hatred. Simply replacing their leadership won’t help if they’d continue to hate. Over 100 years of almost universal Jew-hatred has not diminished a bit in Jordan, Egypt, Gaza or the West Bank, no matter what Israel gave or gives them.
Germans should flood Muslim countries and teach them love for the Jews.
Why have more empathy for the citizens of Dresden than for those of London? The latter were bombed by the Nazis. There is a difference.
How does Israel that gave too much already, become the party that needs to give once more? When will the speaker’s passion go to the Jewish victims of growing up not only in the shadow of Auschwitz but also generation after generation in a State marked for extermination?
Where is his empathy for the Israeli People? While Israel is celebrated by him, the Palestinians are still the only ones who get his empathy. Why?
Where are your tears for the parents who need to send their innocent children to the army to guarantee the Nation’s survival? For simple citizens targeted by terrorists and terrorist regimes, only because they are Jews?
If your words are not the result of christio-supremacy, they are still idiotic. Like Gandi’s call in the 1930s on German Jews to resist peacefully.
And then for the Bible verses that you quoted out of context.
We need to love our fellow like ourselves. But Nazis are not included under ‘fellow’ until they repent and become friends to the Jewish People. It doesn’t matter if these Nazis identify themselves as ‘proper’ Germans, Austrians, Americans, Jordanians, Egyptians, Palestinians, Christians, Muslims, Atheists, left-wingers or right-wingers.
All Nations are welcome in the House of the Lord. That has been Israel’s policy from its inception. The Western Wall is open to anyone who comes in good faith. The Temple Mount will be too, once its Jordanian occupation ends. We’re the ones who, with danger to life for our dear soldiers, guard freedom of worship at the Cave of the Patriarchs and the tombs of Joseph and Rachel. We are, in fact, the only State in the Middle East with freedom of religion and that keeps open and safeguards all places of worship, from Churches to Mosques, from Bahia idol worship Temple to Synagogues.
And to all the Jews who applauded Booker at AIPAC: We are a naive People. He doesn’t say that we are evil. He doesn’t say he hates us. But he still blames us for not being generous enough in the face of a continuous threat of genocide. And he still believes that we control the world and that our love can make the Arab Nation stop hating us. Because the only thing that stops peace in the ME from happening is ancient Jew-hatred.
Why didn’t he exclaim: “I call upon the Arab Nation to embrace the Jews! Our Bible says that he who blesses the Jews will be blessed and he who curses the Jews will be cursed. Open your eyes and see for yourselves how true this is, also today!”? Why does he leave such sentences to Trump?
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
