We’ve still got unity when 20-odd ministers and 60-odd MKs disagree with the People

We’re not divided; rather, the government is isolated from us

Democracy is deeply rooted in the minds of the Israeli public. No verbal tricks can confuse or intimidate us.

You’d think a coalition that lost its majority in the polls still has roughly half the country behind it. This isn’t the case. Look at the examples.

1. Netanyahu has always been Mr. Capitalism. Well, bedrocks of capitalism, nationally and internationally, like heads of banks (the biggest legal thieves in Israel) call upon him to stop the madness—and he doesn’t.

2. The ultra-Orthodox parties permit the legal overhaul craziness to have Israel run to the abyss, so you would think their constituents would soon clash with the secular majority. Not at all. When the demonstrators on Thursday en masse entered Benei Berak, the ultra-Orthodox inhabitants welcomed them with each a hug, drinks, and warm tchulent (the longer it cooks, the taster it gets). So much for the ‘threat of a civil war.’

3. The defense minister wanted to quit to stop the assault on democracy. Netanyahu talked him out of it. But the conscripts won’t have it. Former and reserve IDF soldiers in great numbers call for a strike (now, without bullets). For 75 years, our military has been trained that Befehl ist Befehl doesn’t count—quite naturally for a Jewish State that reemerged after the Holocaust. An immoral order must be disobeyed. You can’t have a civil war when the army is united. You can have a coup, like in any dictatorship.

4. After the minister of police had bullied coalition women (and men) into voting against extra protection for endangered women, a next woman was murdered by her partner. The security minister had called for the death penalty against terrorists. Spouse-murderers are terrorists, but you won’t hear him call for the death penalty now. That’s only for Arabs, in his mind. More than half of the country are women, and all inhabitants were born from a mother. How long do you think anyone can still be bullied into supporting a government that holds that women’s blood is cheap?

5. Not only 10% of all demonstrators seem to self-identifying as LGBTQ+; on average, every third person has a first-degree LGBTQ+ family member besides friends and colleagues. No régime can step over such numbers.

6. Enormous numbers of former and present judges and lawyers in Israel and abroad have called upon not continuing the legal onslaught. There is no doubt that the present High Court will strike down any assault on it. In case of the unthinkable, if they go liberal on that too, the next Knesset should impeach every Judge who failed to protect the Court’s power.

7. The police have refused to make political arrests. They work to balance public order and the right to demonstrate. The minister of police can say whatever he wants. The head of the police declared clearly that without public support, the police are powerless.

8. A rabbinic majority from around the globe have condemned the neck-break speed at which the government tries to cripple the judiciary.

Our democracy has already won. Not without our continuous protests. But those are already a given.

The Netanyahu team has several options: 1. To tactically withdraw, to water and pace down its plans temporally, to be defeated later when they try to jump on us when we’re not looking. Forget it. We’re looking. 2. To slow down the evil in its midst and admit it was mistaken (most unlikely). 3. Or to break up to new elections with giant losses for the coalition.

We already won. Become an activist yet today to join the victory party.

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