Some thoughts on Netanyahu’s guilt or innocence

All this time, I assumed that he was innocent, seeing that he’s slandered all the time by the opposition without them having any proof of wrong-doing. Instead of attacking him with alternative viable political plans, which they don’t seem to have, or trying to join his government.

Now the police has recommended to indict him for bribery. It is unlikely he has sinned there, given how scrupulously he is not to do anything that could be interpreted wrongly, according to a worker for him. People don’t go out of their way to defend someone else, if it’s baseless.

Now he has given a press conference to explain and underline his position. I’m with Bibi. He deserves it.

I don’t blame the Police. They should be paranoid and suspect foul play everywhere and always. It’s up to a judge to say if there is anything to it.

I don’t blame the critical media. It’s their important democratic job to hunt for truths uncomfortable to the powerful. (I do not include in this distinguished profession those news outlets who just fabricate animosity against Netanyahu, many times per day, day after day, year after year.)

Not that Bibi doesn’t know how to lie and flatter. That’s part of being a capable politician. At first, Netanyahu didn’t get it how to do this. He saw politicians lie and cheat and thought: I can do that. In his first term of PM he lied to everyone. In no time everyone was his enemy, and he was ousted. So that’s not how you do it. You lie only when someone is out to get you or for people you need to protect. You don’t trust murderers and give them your heart and secrets. But your allies must be able to trust you — as long as they don’t double cross you. Not all lying is bad in politics. Not all lying is a criminal offence. Since then, he’s doing very well.

It now turns out that the main witness against the PM is his main political rival. “He had no choice but to testify,” an ex-police political ally of the accuser said. That is obviously untrue. A decent opponent would have recused himself and said that he will not give testimony against his rival. Otherwise it really would seem as if for political reasons one tries to get rid of the Prime Minister. Not this guy.

Worse is that this accuser did not testify to facts, but rather volunteered his opinion.

Again we see that indecent political opponents are behind getting rid of Netanyahu.

In any case, I would like it if the attorney general would decide not to indict because the cases are groundless. But I have a second reason.

If Netanyahu is found guilty of illegal dishonesty, we’ve pretty little alternatives for him, who would look any more pure, on the other side of the aisle.

Netanyahu’s cases do not compare to the cases against ex-PM Olmert because about the latter everyone knew that he was crooked but the question was always: can it be proven? With Bibi that’s not the case.

Besides the six cases of suspected fraud, I know a seventh one. US President Trump has declared himself against the green agenda saving the climate. Netanyahu has continued to breathק most enthusiastically, clearly indicating that he doesn’t care about poor air quality (he smokes cigars). He should be suspected of favoring and supporting Trump in exchange for a personal benefit of limitless free air.

I wanted to criticize Bibi on his smoking of cigars or drinking alcohol. But then I realized that taking care of the State for us causes him stress. While I think that there is better stress management, I don’t want to criticize someone who does me favors. However, the WHO should add to risks of smoking that it can be bad for your political survival.

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