Don’t assist abusers in delivering their vitriol or gaining notoriety
As implied by my frontier blog post on Radical Democracy, Freedom of the Press and Free Speech are part of democracy and equality. In their name, don’t add popularity to the selfish enemies of respect, truth, and peace.
A new Golden Standard of Democracy for the media and social media should be not to help the forces of evil. The public will recognize that. It will not abandon them. Rather, sick of the slander and negativity, it will seek out their reporting and value it as dignified, reliable, and empowering.
It would be OK to report the site of the abuse to show more protection might be needed there. The party of the abuser would be good to include as it should be held responsible to condemn this and act against the abuse.
So, don’t specify if a bottle, rock, knife, or cream pie were thrown. Don’t report what conspiracy or blood libel or slander were perpetuated. Don’t specify the ‘motive’ that the police ‘found.’ ‘Hatred’ and ‘bigotry’ are clear enough. What could be added is what bigotry: sexism, racism, etc.
News outlets proudly supportive of democracy and equality should have a seal next to their names with the words: “We Back Democracy.”
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Here are a couple of examples of how to report recent abuses.
- A Republican former US president spoke out against gun control.
- An Israeli ultra-Orthodox Talmud school master slandered ministers. He made a comparison to the Holocaust, effectively diminishing it.
- A Member of Knesset’s bodyguard protected her from danger from an assault by a boy in a Muslim crowd near Jerusalem’s Old City.
- The junta in Gaza again has threatened the Jewish State.
- Palestinian NGOs laud release of ‘left-wing’ Japan terror head who helped murder Jews in Israel.
- Small minorities within a Jewish-nationalist parade and among Muslim onlookers have hurled verbal/physical abuse at each other. Muslim leaders haven’t condemned their provocateurs yet. Jewish leaders and publications singled out Jews for condemnation.
- Busses for transportation of Jews have been attacked in a Jerusalem-Muslim neighborhood.
- A rift inside a Chassidic dynasty turned into a violent brawl again.
- An ultra-Orthodox rabbi called his Halachic objection just smarter.
- Iraq again assailed Israel. The US reconfirmed its stance with Israel.
- Israeli-Muslims threatened Muslim bus drivers not to transport Jews.
- Jewish security personnel was physically assaulted when it left the Daheisheh so-called refugee camp. There was no condemnation.
- Some 80 US lawmakers again lectured Israel.
- A Jerusalem Muslim tried to assault an ultra-right-wing Jewish MK.
- A manhunt for Muslims trying to kill Jewish drivers near Hebron.
- 86-year-old Israeli-Ukrainian arrested for trying to murder his wife.
- CNN accuses IDF and not PA terrorists of murder without any proof.
- Israeli daily compares Ukraine fighting Russian assault to Gaza junta.
- Anti-Israel conspiracy libel may get a Church of England vicar fired.
- Australia’s new, left-wing PM sells anti-Israel stance as friendship.
- The Jerusalem Day march ended largely peacefully. Too much focus on a couple of anarchists. Those who hated will continue doing so.
- Muslim States lie and criticize Israel to pacify their own extremists.
- Again, Pride Month makes right-wing homophobic leaders come out of their closets without legal hindrance, while the majority of Israeli Jews across the aisle oppose any discrimination against LGBTQ.
- Dictatorship China’s embassy in Tel Aviv, unfamiliar with democracy and its underlying respect for freedom and people, demanded that an interview with the Taiwan FM is removed from a local news site.
- Chamas terrorists murdered Jewish student, get life and a large fine.
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The situation for protests in dictatorships is the opposite. You spell out the protests, give credit to the activists, and refuse to quote accusations by the dictatorship trying to discredit the call for respect for the citizens.
- Iranian police attack regime protesters after the collapse of a building under construction killing 41 and counting. The protest is on its second week. It calls for the execution of the incompetent officials.
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An advanced position would withhold disempowering and depressing news without context. That background should then clarify the causes and what to do about them. Instead of training readers on fatalism, depression, and passivity, this will lead to informed, confident, and effective activism.
An example of this is the latest US mass shooting. Instead of bickering about which is the ‘real’ cause, a crazy shooter or crazy gun laws, list all the reasons that must line up to enable such abuse, as I blogged. We could also do without them bombarding us with sensationalism and hurtful pictures.
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
