The ultra-right starts to realize it lost, has built on melting ice, and fatigues
They expect less resistance than they encountered in March, but why?
A right-wing outgoing ex-deputy AG wants a Bibi plea bargain because the trial against Netanyahu can’t coincide with the overhaul. He forgets Bibi’d be insane (and he isn’t) if he’d agree to a plea bargain if he’s innocent. He still lies like a charm claiming he only forgot to drink on an outing during a heatwave. I don’t think his judgment is that severely impaired.
The brains behind the coup attempt are getting tired and desperate.
Also the riffraff is getting frantic, even in the Knesset.
Some new cracks appear in the coalition, including in the Likud.
They try to intimidate the President out of neutrality into submission.
Netanyahu plays chicken with striking reservists. Who’s the attacker here? The IDF trains soldiers that ‘It’s the law’ doesn’t justify following unjust commands. But Gantz needed to side with Bibi not to seem unreasonable.
Ben Gevir is getting more isolated and indefensible by the day. His attempts to bully the demonstrators via the police will backfire.
The ultra-right ‘press’ continues with false (outlying) poll numbers as if the Likud and Netanyahu would stay the largest. No other outlet finds this.
Beware: The government tries passing the backbone of the coup, not a thin slice, as part of salami tactics. NB: We oppose ideas, not people. The ultra-right lies nothing drastic will be done and preferring negotiations. Never believe the coalition claiming this is exactly what the Justices want. And distrust opposition leaders claiming negotiation may still happen.
Parents surely should take their kids to demonstrations that are not expected to be violent, like in Jerusalem. It’s part of educating them.
Here are two new examples of why Israel needs a High Court to strike down majority decisions and laws that harm vulnerable minorities since we lack a Basic Law that would enable every Israeli judge to do so.
The coalition’s mantra is false. It goes roughly like: ‘Non-elected officials cannot override a freely elected government.’ That depends. There’s no democratic right to violate minorities or equality. No majority may use the courts, police, or army to stifle the People. Unelected heads of hospitals or universities do not need to do science such that it pleases the majority. Neither are artists, religious leaders, or laborers slaves of the PM. Etc.
The Saturday night demonstrations and weekday upheaval are relentless.
I say that demonstrations don’t suffice anymore. We need nationwide strikes at hospitals and health fonds, the IDF, harbors, airports, shops, industry, courts, transportation, freezing preparations for the new school and academic year for schools and universities, interruptions of electricity, TV, and internet access, etc. with exception of news reports. All workers can do this maximally responsibly while causing maximal discomfort.
I admit it’s hard to disrupt trains or interrupt the electricity supply when there are power outages because of technical problems or a heatwave.
All this public protest will not persuade the government. It might convince a few coalition MKs. But their most important aim is at the High Court. These Justices were too weak/confused to stop Ben Gevir and his cohorts from standing for election and entering the government. They must know all of Israeli society will come to a halt if they fail yet again to do their job.
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
