Translations for leftwing Members of Knesset

I am shocked by the filth that recently reportedly has emerged from the mouths of spokespersons for our high-salaried MKs on the left side of the aisle.

Let’s say I’m a left-wing Israeli and I want to vote for a party that carries my ideas and is represented by honest and decent people. I don’t know one. No wonder hardly anyone votes for these parties.

But I prefer to think that these people are not dishonest and rude. Rather, they might be upright but don’t know a better way to talk. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and teach them how to speak.

(I suspect one of them to be very dishonest but we’ll ignore that for now. Especially because people are not the problem; a culture of verbal abuse is.)

Maybe, the Knesset could “reward” use of the old wrong words with financial penalties and for limited times, blocking them from debates.

Here are recent pronouncements, followed by respectable alternatives.

OLD: Netanyahu “always does and gives in to the haredim over and over again because surrender is his art. The main thing is to keep his chair, everything is really little politics.”

NEW: I understand that Netanyahu needs to give in to the haredim because they are part of his coalition like they in turn also give in on other points confirm the coalition agreement. Though I hate that they have a voice in Israeli politics and I don’t. I wish we could put me in charge.

OLD: “A prime minister cannot attack the legal authorities in such a way only because he is terrified of the accusations against him. It is a danger to democracy, a danger to the rule of law, and a mortal blow to our common life. There is no doubt he must transfer the premiership to another member of the Likud until elections.”

NEW: Also our Prime Minister has the full right, like every citizen, to dispute accusations of him having violated the law, as long as he’s not convicted. If I were him, I wouldn’t even step down when an indictment is filed. In fact, it would be better if he wouldn’t, because otherwise, real suspicions might not have their day in court because mere suspicions might be insufficient to topple a government.

OLD: “When the Israeli prime minister tells the lie that the Israel Police is making cases fit [for convictions], this will also be the line of defense of the next head of a crime organization [in a trial]. If you are ever in distress and need the police, remember it’s Netanyahu that is trying to weaken this agency. Israel is not a corrupt country, but Netanyahu is corrupting Israel. Truth is a lie and a lie is truth. When you see Border Police forces fighting terrorism, remember who Netanyahu is slandering. The presumption of innocence until proven guilty is not a right [that can be used] to undermine law enforcement agencies in Israel. Chaos is good for Netanyahu, but Israel is more important than he is.”

NEW: It is a serious accusation when the Prime minister says that the police tries to have him go to trial on a ploy. We hope for the country that both are not true – there was no twisting by the police and there was no criminal act by the PM – that it’s all a misunderstanding or simple difference of opinion. Until he’s convicted, he must be held as innocent and he’s entitled to defend himself in public against accusations made in public.

OLD: “The PM is such a crybaby and so detached from the truth. We have become tired of a prime minister who is immersed in criminal investigations and attacks on the gatekeepers appointed by him. Time has come for another kind of leadership. That will show that it’s possible to change, that will protect the rule of law and deal with the real problems of the public.”

NEW: If I were in the shoes, I would also complain about the constant slandering that he receives in the press. His volume of defense is rather very modest compared to how much and how viciously he’s attacked around the clock. But even if he were oversensitive to criticism, he’s entitled to his sensitivities and those have nothing to do with the things he should be judged for: his plans, policies and actions. When he says that the police is not fair, he longs for the same thing as all of us: a fair police.

OLD: “Tonight we saw an anxious and frightened prime minister who has a heavy cloud of corruption floating over him. He no longer has the moral or public mandate to make crucial decisions for the State of Israel.”

NEW: As a member of the opposition, I’m frustrated that for so many years, no election was able to remove him from office. But integrity demands that I admit that so far he’s not convicted – not even indicted – and so he is as innocent as everyone else. We hope that he will fall because the public wants a change in the rule of our country, not because our PM will be convicted of a crime unrelated to a judgment about his policies.

OLD: “Netanyahu is a criminal who has adopted criminal behavior and the language of the underworld. The victory of light over darkness will be when Bibi goes home.”

NEW: This whole investigation is, of course, unpleasant but I am proud that in Israel no one is above the law. Let’s all hope that the PM comes out clean.

As Rabbi Vorst (Amstelveen, the Netherlands) says: When one points a finger at someone, most likely three fingers are pointing at himself and his thumb accuses Heaven – something to think about. All accusations, in the end, just backfire, as this poll shows clearly.

If you want to win, stop pointing fingers towards others.

About the Author

MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, an almost daily blog contributor to the Times of Israel, and previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. 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 (partly) generated by AI. * As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. He doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit about what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and education contribute to his visions. * If you don't know the Dutch, get an American peek behind the scenes here: https://youtu.be/QMPp6h6r72M * To find less-recent posts on subject XXX among his 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, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/. * Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. Yet, 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 who don't deserve that. 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), 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. * His most influential teachers (chronologically) 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. * 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. 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, anti-elitism, anti-bigotry and supremacy, for Zionism, Intersectionality, and 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. * He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to 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. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. * 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, empowering therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids non-violently. 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 being a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. He lives with his library in Jerusalem. Feel free to contact him. * His writing has been made possible by a (second-generation) Holocaust survivors' allowance 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