search
Moshe-Mordechai van Zuiden
Psychology, Medicine, Science, Politics, Oppression, Integrity, Philosophy, Jews -- For those who like their news and truths frank and sharp

Them are Us. The true meaning of ‘Never Again.’ Feed the hungry.

This week is kind of an emotional rollercoaster.

Tuesday

Not to make anyone feel bad but today, 1 in 9 people on earth don’t have enough to eat every day. Some 821 million people are starving daily. Every second-and-a-half, someone dies of malnutrition. And there is more than death. Children that survive this, often have growth retardation that is permanent and handicaps that can’t be healed.

And the world does nothing. I have books from 50 years ago that talk about ending world hunger. But the victims already for 50 years don’t make the news. Apparently, they are unimportant and inferior. Their blood is cheap and their lives don’t count. They are ‘them,’ not us. Far removed from us. Not our business. No solidarity on the horizon.

And that is exactly what enabled the Holocaust! To look away, not being interested. What are they to us? Nothing. No feeling of any closeness.

And look at the latest news here: UN WFP says that the number of people in acute hunger could now nearly double due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Never Again Auschwitz is not done by far.

(And then I haven’t even mentioned the unending antisemitism and Iran.)

There is still so much to be done before we have Paradise on Earth again.

Just giving some donations are not going to help here. (A great way to feel that we’ve done enough and feel holy.) Then, what should be done?

We should realize that this problem exists. Then we must feel it as our concern. Then we should all talk about it so much until a massive solidarity engulfs the world. (If such a tiny stupid virus can span the world in a few months, should our holy concern not be able to do so?). Once everyone is concerned, it will be solved in no time. There is plenty of food. But no-one cares. There’s no goodwill. We must make this a priority for this summer!

The whole corona pandemic comes from people hardly having empathy. (To only care about “your own” people is not loving your neighbor.) If you just care about your won, you just love yourself. How so?

Fifty years ago, the Chinese government staved tens of millions of its own citizens to death. Then the country would be easier to rule. No non-Chinese said a thing. This just concerned the Chinese. Too bad the didn’t have democracy. So the Chinese learned to eat everything that moves. Last year, one Chinese ate one strange animal too much — that happened to be infected with a bat virus. The dictators hid the beginning epidemic until it was too late and a whole pandemic was the result. If we only now criticize the Chinese regime, aren’t we a bit late? And how moral are we if we are concerned because they made millions of people sick around the globe but we don’t care than they imprison 1.3 billion Chinese?

The ability to care about people who are “really different” is not super-human. Here is the speech that the leader of a religious Muslim party in the Knesset (for the first time) said commemorating the Holocaust and the revolt in the ghetto of Warsaw. Beautiful perfect dignified warm words.

People are not self-centered because they are overwhelmed. There are many generous people who have difficulties in life hardly anyone would have. Being only concerned with yourself is an addiction to a bad habit.

Last but not least, I do not remember ever such a respect for the elderly in Israel and in particular, for Holocaust survivors. Here are some clips of the Israeli police saluting survivors, in their homes or in communal homes.

Wednesday

Wednesday is Earth Day. Nice to try to save everyone from the coronavirus but if we did nothing, it would ‘only’ kill 170 million people. Left would be still billions. But if we do nothing drastic about climate change, no one will survive. Humanity would die out. You don’t believe it? Many who didn’t believe in the coronavirus danger paid heavily for their ignorant refusal.

Thursday

Thursday evening (probably — if the beginning of the new moon can be spotted, if needed by telescope): Ramadan. It is not enough to feel the pain of others. We also need to be happy for the happiness of others.

Their celebrations this year will be the whole month, including the concluding Festival, without their extended families or friends meeting because of the pandemic. If you suspect that someone is fasting, don’t eat in from of him/her. A proper blessing is, Ramadan Kareem.

Jews have, for now, a fixed calendar, Thursday night for sure will start two days of de beginning of the Month of Eeyar. Have a happy month!

Friday

Commemoration of the Armenian genocide by the Turks. When someone in Hitler’s inner circle suggested that they would never get away with exterminating the Jews, he replied: “Who today, is still talking about the Armenian genocide?” No one, that was.

And now please, don’t say that because it can now touch Jewish History, we feel connected to it. When a whole people gets slaughtered, every human should be revolted forever. Not just because they are close to us.

Many if not most Gentiles who rescued Jews from a certain death in the death camps did so, not because they knew them or they had something in common with them. When you see a confrontation between evil and the innocent, you help the innocent.

If you know someone Armenian, give them a call, Friday.

The April 22 CNN clip with the World Food Program director was added and the number of currently starving people was adjusted.

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
Related Topics
Related Posts