No, I did not become an anti-Semite blaming all ills on the Jews, especially not those troubles nothing to do with them. Then on what do I base this? Some Jews think that all of mankind resolves around the Jews. All Peoples in the world should see themselves as important, but egocentricity should be the sole possession of simple people – not leaders. Some leading rabbis have explained that all human suffering in the world happens to wake up the Jews to repent. That’s not so bad, because that preaches compassion and being responsible. No, none of this is not what I want to claim here.
Give me a moment then to explain this headline my way, in four ways.
– 1 –
The dictator of Syria who gassed his own civilians should have been kicked out years ago. There was a problem with this. The two groups who were fighting each other and Assad both were even worse for Israel than Assad. So Israel and its allies had no alternative for Assad. Therefore, no one could support one club of murderers over the others. (The Kurds did proclaim friendship with Israel but somehow they never got the outside military support they should have.) The Syrian civil war (so much for civil) so went on and on and on. If only, one of the powerful armies had proclaimed to be for the Jewish state — but none did.
– 2 –
Syrian refugees fled to Europe in great numbers, terrorists hiding between them. The same Europe that had blamed Israeli Jews for causing Arab terrorism in Israel. At the present, Israel is well protected against terrorists, but Europe is not (not physically and not emotionally — Germany committing suicide?). What would have happened if they would not have abandoned us all those years? (I have great respect for Germany, how it rehabilitated itself, but Germany also blames us for the anti-Semitic attacks on our civilians by Muslims.)
– 3-
September 11, 2001, do you know what was written on the front pages of the morning papers around the world? I tell you. For umpteenth day in a row, Israel was slandered for being the Devil’s headquarter — the enlightened pronouncements of the UN World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South-Africa, hijacked by anti-Semites. My theory is that the L^rd of the Universe was sick and tired of seeing the apple of His eye being insulted on a daily basis. Unfortunately, it was replaced by the massive anti-Semitic terror attack that showed the evil of these Jew-haters (no one accused the US of causing this) that would plunge the US into a costly war that sunk its economy as nothing else had in recent memory. We never heard from this Durban conference again. Europe can stop blaming Israel for our “racism” against the Arab Palestinians. How much tolerance should our Father in Heaven have with this slander? Now they got their own Middle East Arabs — good luck!
– 4 –
Would you like to be an Arab Palestinian? Why are their lives such a mess? When will they throw out their corrupt leaders and demand a peaceful life close to and together with the Jews? Could one do better than live with the Jews?! On the whole, we’re such a sweet bunch. Maybe Trump can help.
When will the world finally stand with Israel all the way? It’s the only approach to be all safe. As it says numerous times in the Bible: who blesses us will be blessed; who curses us will be cursed. Even atheists could learn this as they do subscribe to history; and this is what history teaches until today.
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