Lazy. His first move is a 100-million dollar ad campaign against Trump. He missed the Democratic consensus that has formed that the Democratic winner needs to scale down the anti-Trump speech and rather have a positive campaign. Anyone who likes negativity already has Trump to vote for. This election is not about Trump. If you discuss Trump, he already won — more personal attention. Then you play into Trump’s hands, play his game. Coming out swinging like that means he hasn’t put in the hard work of following what is going on. BTW: we already have a lazy president.
Arrogant. He thinks he’s better than anyone else. We already have a president like that. The reason that many did not vote for Hillary was that she looked too arrogant. Trump, though, is such a smart-ass con artist, he made his superiority look like from-rags-to-riches. Never mind that he grew up super-rich and instead of making capital he just lost money.
Trump not only lowered the Office of the Presidency. He makes his work look simple too. Many overlook his superior verbal skills. (It’s all he has. He has no insight, no stamina, no philosophy or belief system.) If you’re just right or angry, you’d lose. Trump is too good to be true and many like that.
Lying. He’s not afraid that Trump will win again. He’s terrified that a democratic-socialist would win. We have the best liar already in the White House. And next to Donald, Michael will lose (The best doesn’t always win. Hillary was far more capable and still, she lost.) because it’s obvious that Mike’s in it for himself. Even four years of Trump presidency will not show he’s too. He constantly flatters and pleases strategic groups of people. If the choice would be between lying Trump and lying Bloomberg, Trump would win because he’s more colorful. In comparison, Bloomberg is a bore.
Bored. Donald too ran for he needed a new armchair challenge. But the People will reject to be Mike’s plaything. ‘I’m not your toy, you stupid boy.’
Ungrateful. He doesn’t appreciate the Democratic field there is. But there are so many Lazy, Arrogant, Lying, Bored, Ungrateful multi-billionaires — what makes him think that he would stand out? Rather, if he really had the best of America and the rest of the world in mind, he should put his money behind one of the existing candidates after studying the Democratic field.
A Few Positive but Not Helpful Notes
Jewish. He would (finally) be the first Jewish US president. Yet, Americans don’t really care. They voted Obama not because he was Afro-American and not despite it. On Israel, he’d be hard-pressed to outdo Trump.
Honest. He seems an honest guy, interesting in improving the world for all. This is especially laudable in a multi-billionaire and makes Jews and G^d look good — deservedly — Jews have a long tradition of being honest — see the Talmud. However, just the fact that the incumbent president is a con artist doesn’t mean that the Democratic Party lacks honest candidates.
Progressive. He seems a genuine progressive on many issues. That is nice. But also, that’s the norm in the Democratic Party. He doesn’t need to run to save Democratic talking points.
Decent. He received many honors and rewards and Wikipedia lists no scandals. That’s commendable for someone so long in the public eye.
Late. It’s not just late in the election cycle or late in his life; he’s had so many chances to stand for president. IMHO, he should admit to regret and apologize rather than deny that he missed his chance. It’s unforgivable in particular that he didn’t run in time to prevent Donald Trump’s presidency.
On related news, Anthony Scaramucci, bored now he’s finished ghost-writing the Anonymous book, is preparing the ground for his book’s seeds to have a chance to sprout in fertile ground. He keeps giving himself away by just now doing the media rounds more than ever. He’s also like the pyromaniac who can’t bear to leave the crime scene.
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