The chutzpa of celebrating diversity and tolerance while stifling its LGBTQs

Too many Jews still assume that traditional must mean reactionary

The flagship of Diaspora-Ashkenazi-Orthodox-Intellectual Judaism, Yeshiva University, a federally sponsored bastion of bigotry, went to the US Supreme Court to try to fend off openly Gay students and teachers.

The word we have for those leaders is malshinim: those Jews who inform on other innocent Jews to Gentile courts in the hope they will hurt them. Our Tradition has added a whole section to those traitors in our thrice-a-day main blessing: “For the malshinim there will be no hope”!

Of course, the US must hold the world record on pretense. So, no wonder a US university can claim to be a warm school that follows Jewish values while, in practice, ‘to love the other as yourself’ is a dead letter.

To add insult to injury, an Orthodox rabbi, once a student at this bulwark of normalcy and hatred for the abnormal, now celebrates the diversity and tolerance in his alma mater. Is this the timing of a bigot or coincidental, of one who doesn’t follow the news or an apologist for the undefendable?

Make no mistake, his blog post is free of any hint about the stifling homophobia rejoiced there. It only mentions obliquely that the school does have its ‘red lines.’ It should have red cheeks … from shame.

And that’s even without the sexual abuse that can flourish in secrecy.

Some 99.99% of all Orthodox rabbis still toe the party line and continue to criminalize all Gays’ sexualities. This will continue as long as they are more scared of Gays and afraid of being persecuted with them than they fear our Heavenly Father. I shudder at the thought of how much damage they cause on Earth and how much guilt they gleefully amass in Heaven.

Courtesy assimilated rabbis who don’t notice they talk like hateful, derailed Christians, and who fail to see they’re bringing human sacrifices as idolaters happily did to ‘enable’ and ‘pacify’ their incompetent and moody idols, squandering the good name of Jews and our Creator—the worst sin.

The old ways don’t work anymore. Gays-bashing only makes the attacker look bad. Too many skeletons in the closet—no place for Gays anymore. ‘Just stop being religious, leave’ also has run its course. Non-Straight non-Cis Orthodox Jews are not going anywhere anymore. For 50 years, rabbis blindly followed fundamentalist Christianity. It’s time to awaken and think. How can smart people be so stupid to think G^d gave a million Jews faulty sexuality and that if they want to have a good life, they should live alone?

But the first action against systemic oppression, even before you know what to do about it, is to speak out. The Six Million were killed in silence.

For me, it’s simple. Those who participate without protest are complicit.

One YU rav, already for decades, stands with the Queer. I read his Jewish warmth, not as permission for the other rabbis to hate. It accuses all the others, including the famed: how could you?! Here’s a clip from 2009:

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