It’s simple. Stop making all the old mistakes. Not thinking outside the box but outside of your bubble.
Disclaimer: This post deals with left-wing Israeli politics. Make no mistake, I may criticize some of the left here, but when needed, on other subjects, I may go after the right. I’m not left-wing or right-wing. My loyalty is with the truth as I see it. That’s why most left-wing and right-wing outlets have blocked me from commenting and blogging.
On the basis of this interview with a prospective new Israeli, Zionist, left-wing leader, I will tell you my wishes.
Messiah Complex
Stop telling everyone that you know and everyone else is stupid. I personally am sick of it. A wise leader learns from everyone.
Form relationships with all Zionist and Jewish political parties and talk about things you agree on. Lieberman, Netanyahu, Abbas, Eisenkot, and Deri all agree with some of your ideas. Make yourself look fitting and attractive to any coalition that will be formed after the next elections.
Stop Your Racism
There are no ‘the Palestinians.’ How do you like it when people talk about ‘the Jews’ or ‘the Israelis’?
The first distinction to make is between the people and the leaders.
Next, never forget that no identity ever fully determines anyone.
And then, there are Palestinians outside of Israel: in Jordan, in Egypt, in Syria, and in Lebanon; and in the Holy Land: on the West Bank, in the Gaza Strip, from before 1948, and since 1967; and in the Diaspora: refugees, those who never lived here, and ‘solidarity Palestinians.’ There are Christian, Muslim, Islamist Muslim, and Atheist Palestinians. Some live in Arab villages, others in mixed or Jewish cities. They can be found among IDF soldiers and Zionists. We have poor Arab Israelis and wealthier ones, safe ones and those endangered by crime. And on top of that, in every section, there are individuals who are moderate and not.
Remember that Muslim and Jewish Israelis share part of their cultures. And Arab Jews and Muslims also have part of their cultures jointly.
If you have the sophistication to see nuances, then you must speak accordingly. Not because otherwise, you won’t get the Arab vote, but because you won’t get the Jewish vote. It’s unbecoming; it gives the left, Jews, and Zionism a bad name.
Money
Heard of money? You seem to have plenty, but plenty of Israelis don’t. We’re sick of all the one-track-minded political leaders. They can only think of security. Some capitalists also get their ideas in. And that’s it.
We need leaders who won’t sell out the country to some dangerous peace process but who can also let some of the profits of our defense industry and high-tech pay for free public transportation and education. Break the monopoly of the banks and the few families that provide all of our food—junk food for ridiculous prices. Promote real food, whole wheat, vegan, and tasty food, and pay smokers and alcoholics to quit.
Israel must be a light unto the nations, also in the West. We must reward people who give, who give of their time, energy, and expertise. Not only young people but all citizens should live centered around giving so that everyone receives plenty. The addiction to entertainment must begin to feel stupid and worthless, unless you contributed your fair share already.
***
About this idea that Israel is ready for a woman as PM, I’m sorry to say I doubt it. Merav Michaeli (Democrats, former Labor Party leader) always dresses in black so that journalists stop talking about what she’s wearing.
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
