True democracy is not a dictatorship of the majority
Israel should follow the example of Holland, not of the USA
This is how Dutch society sees democracy:
The majority rules while taking minorities into account.
I learned this in school when I was about 16, years before I was allowed to vote. In the US, they can’t stop bragging about how their democracy of equality of all voters is their invention and superior to all other systems.
Secondly, how can a system be ideal if it employs piling lies on half-truths to polarize and split up society to win the majority?
Another difference between the Low Countries and the USA is that Dutch politicians are allowed to lie on condition that it doesn’t transpire. If any dishonesty comes out, they need to resign.
***
My mother’s father, a Talmud scholar murdered at Auschwitz, Louis Karel Nieweg, used to say: Communism is the best system if it wouldn’t have to be executed by people. The same trouble befalls the system of democracy.
Although the Netherlands had shown much tolerance and social sensitivity toward the weak in the 20th Century, its politics also ran into the ground.
The government of the Netherlands always was formed of numerous parties that after elections would negotiate for months to hammer out a very detailed agreement of what the government would do.
Unfortunately, that turned the Parliament into the cabinet’s rubber stamp. Especially in the last decade, opposition parties could object, coalition parties had to agree. Civil servants became used to sparsely informing the Government that also would give as little information as possible to Parliament. If you don’t tell anyone, no one can object. The flaws became painfully clear when a gigantic disgrace surfaced three years ago.
An enormous racist scandal stayed hidden for years in which the State fought decent citizens, destroying their reputation and finances, reducing tens of thousands to poverty, mostly those with a migrant background.
The duped cried out to parliamentarians. They didn’t help because they couldn’t believe the outcries. They said: Go to court. The judges rather believed the State. It took a deep digging by a couple of journalists and parliamentarians to reveal the depth and scale of the abuse.
The leading researching Parliamentarian, Pieter Omtzigt (who, surprisingly, until today still has not been decorated by the government for his work,) of the Christian coalition party, declared he had sworn to do what the Constitution demands, to check the Government, not just to support it. At the next elections, he received enough votes for five seats.
Then it was found that leading politicians, even of his own party, tried to promote him to places where he could not bother them anymore.
Still, the whole of Parliament had woken up and demanded transparency. This included the anti-immigrant parties! They never agreed that the State would fight decent hard-working people. They all demanded that the next coalition will have only agreements on main principles and that details will be determined in debates with them, representatives of the people.
The power struggle between the Government and Parliament is ongoing.
One problem that no one seems to address is that a proper separation of power between the executive and controlling branch is impossible when, like the situation is now, the leading ministers are at the same time the heads of the parliamentarian fraction that form the coalition.
***
Israeli politics too seems obsessed with majority positions. Just like Israel is inundated with cola and pizza, here too, it tries to copy the US. Bad deal.
Everybody needs a democracy in which not only the majority decides but also takes care of all the interests of every minority. It’s true, ‘if you’re not at the table, you’ll be on the menu.’ But that saying means to encourage people to represent their causes. It does not mean to say that if you’re among the ruling parties, you can trample the ones who are not.
Just what you say to a male bully: Real men protect, not attack, the weak.
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. Of the 15 (!) books he has in mind, the next two are about homosexuality in Judaism and new rabbinics. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2600 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 that also may contain updates to Times of Israel posts, to which one may subscribe, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. *
He's getting ready to publicize books on: "Free Will, "Judaism and Homosexuality, "His parents in the Holocaust, "Judaism, "A New Torah Translation and "A New Hebrew Grammar, "Co-Counseling, "Vegan Facts, "Immortality, and more. *
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 agrees that in a post-truth world, that's irrelevant, but then this is for the record. 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. His posts are spell, grammar, and style polished by AI, but all written by himself. *
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
