Stop Trump’s forcefully use of a new vicious form of anti-Semitism
If my headlined shocked you about the most Jew-loving US president ever employing anti-Semitism with a new twist, it should.
Jews are not the Issue Here
You must know that anti-Semitism has very little to do with the Jews.
First of all, is it an impairment of Gentiles which they should root out, just like men must end sexism and Caucasians need to end racism.
When young Jews in astonishment ask: But why do they hate us, the simple answer is, for no reason at all. It’s just a bad old habit.
In Spain, virulent antisemitism existed for centuries with no Jews around anymore. But there is more unJewish stuff here.
The Tactic of Attacking Jews
Antisemitism is the way rulers when under threat by the population would set them up against the Jews. After the pogrom, people were so demoralized by their own actions that they would leave the rulers alone.
Trump has totally bungled the COVID-19 pandemic, costing thousands of lives. (I don’t really blame him. He’s a clever idiot who knows nothing and learns nothing and what do you expect from such a person?)
So, what to do? He’ll deny his failure, blame it on others, and .. attack a weak minority. But — problem — he can’t attack the Jews. They’re in his family. Israelis are his biggest fans. His father was a friend of Jews.
The Newest Mutation of US Antisemitism
So, what did Trump do?
He launched an attack on Chinese-Americans. They’re a small minority too. Intellectuals. Seventeen percent of all doctors in the US are Chinese-Americans. Many are dentists, lawyers, small-shop owners. Having been raised in the Diaspora, most of them don’t speak Chinese but they often maintain the traditional diet. They are mostly a timid lot. Workaholics.
Don’t you see the many similarities with Diaspora Jews? They’re basically Jews without Shabbat. (I don’t claim that non-religious Jews are Chinese. You know what I mean. Common.) A great group for scapegoating!
And that is exactly what Trump did. After at first calling the virus a ‘foreign virus,’ he went on to call it ‘the Chinese virus.’ After a week, he said he would stop saying that but the damage was done already.
Asian-Americans in the US, from the age of school kids on, are now being abused by the thousands. The assaults have gone from suspicious looks through hateful stares to verbal and even physical attacks.
It doesn’t come in crowds chanting to kill all Chinese. But it only takes one aggressor to scare a whole community when bystanders do nothing.
And now, the Trump Campaign has just unashamedly released a campaign video in which it (falsely) accuses Democratic frontrunner Biden of being a Chinese agent. Their main proof is pictures from him meeting with a Chinese man. However, this “Chinese” is a Chinese-American who was twice governor of a US State.
This is not an accident. It’s a clear plot and must be stopped.
Stop Trump’s Assault on the Chinese!
And again, as with antisemitism, there are two reasons to demand that this stops immediately. To protect Chinese-Americans, and to not distract from a president who from sheer incompetence, is personally responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans and counting.
Of course, it is the greatest chutzpa, after adopting Andrew Yang’s main campaign slogan of Universal Basic Income to aim at Chinese-Americans. Brazen also, after being accused of being a Russian agent (no, he’s just their useful idiot), to baselessly paint his opponent as a Chinese agent. But then, that is his style. To employ the greatest chutzpa ‘innocently.’
There is no need to appeal to the morals of a man who used xenophobia and racism to win the highest office and who doesn’t stand down when his stupidity is killing thousands and the economy. Rather, others must resist, Republicans and Democrats, activists and politicians to stop this.
And be watchful when this gets stopped. An alternative attack on gays, transgenders or ‘progressive’ women can be quickly designed.
He has a great need for scapegoating because the population is bound to found out soon that not a virus is killing them but their inept president.
Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Israel had competent leaders who acted swiftly preventing a total disaster.
NB: I don’t claim that aiming at Jewish-Americans has been replaced by targeting Chinese-Americans. Jews are still under fire too, unfortunately.
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. 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
