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

What nobody tells you about the nuances of the political upheaval in Israel now

It’s important to have the insights so that you can explain what’s going on

1. The media deny any nuance. You’re either for or against intolerance, and ideas outside this dichotomy are muffled. Demonstrators are only shown or mentioned if there is violence by the police or demonstrators. Politicians are only quoted if they slander others, lie, or sound desperate.

2. The proposed compromises were no middle roads. Some want to kill you, and others want you safe, let’s just maim you is not a compromise.

3. Protests now are vital to strengthen the weak Supreme Court to strike down the new anti-democratic law. They proved weak enough to allow bigots and extremists to stand in elections and even be ministers. NB: It ain’t over ’till it’s over. No setback ever proves that now all is lost.

4. It’s not personal. Netanyahu, Deri, Gantz, Lapid, Ben Gevir, or whoever else is not the issue. This is about (objectionable) ideas. It is not OK to malign, harass, or threaten politicians, or journalists for that matter. Bibi and Deri have done great things for us and the High Court terrible things.

5. There is no rift in the people. We’ve never had such unity before. The coup is only by a marginal group of bigots and some opportunists drunk on power. If they could believe they’d lose the next election by a landslide (which they will), they would never enact these laws opposing minority rights because soon they will be in the minority. Then the coalition could rule: anyone who didn’t serve in the army cannot own a house.

6. The High Court must have power over the government and other authorities because Israel has no Basic Law. In all countries that have one, any judge can renounce a law because it’s against the Constitution.

7. A majority coalition is anti-democratic if it enacts laws that are anti-equality, pro-corruption, unfair, or anti-minorities. To oppose that is pro-democracy. True democracy can never be a tyranny of the majority. To oppose that is pro-democracy. Therefore, our soldiers and pilots are so opposed. They were trained more than anyone in the world that Befehl ist Befehl doesn’t work. It’s the world upside-down when the bigots call the protestors anarchists.

8. The High Court ‘is left-wing.’ What is meant is that it has a big eye for minorities. That’s its job! You don’t complain that a surgeon cuts so much.

9. “Politicians are democratically elected and judges are not, so, politicians should have the last say.” We neither elect the bosses of the central bank, hospitals, secret services, and whatnot. They all can—and sometimes must—say to the government: that’s not how we operate.

10. All the pollsters are lying, besides doing a poor job. When Meretz and Labor join, they’ll get 9 seats. Then, the current opposition (besides the extreme Muslim party) will get 70 out of 120 seats. Shash may join, and maybe others too. The extremists will have all their power taken away.

11. The importance of our fight for democracy and equality for the law goes beyond our country. Many democratic states, prominently the US, are fighting off anti-democratic majorities. Our win will hearten them.

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
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