When wrong people like Jews for the wrong reasons

When you really get to know Jews, what’s there not to love about them? In comparison to humans in general, many Jews are even outstanding. Contrary to popular opinion, also among many Jews, this is not genetic. Rather, this is the result of careful pruning of each generation, from parent to child. Look at our Torah Portion of the Week (Sho-feteem). Many laws about capital punishment (The Sages call ‘a bunch of murderers’ a court that rightly hands down a death penalty more frequently than once in 70 years!), murder, manslaughter, and war and the importance of preserving peace and fruit trees.

Not Getting Away with Murder

A good example is how Jews for many generations in all countries are low on being murderers. Jews are human and humans make all kinds of terrible mistakes and Jews are not above that. But murder is more often than among Gentiles not among Jewish mistakes.

One could philosophize why. Endlessly. Until one finds proof. That Jews were murdered so much that we understand how bad that is. That such antipathy got transferred into our DNA. Or that we always were like that and that’s why G^d took us as an example to all of humankind. Not so.

My proof comes from pub-goers. In an attempt to be like all nations (an evil impulse among Jews), some spend their free time drinking alcohol. Once they do, they almost kill as easily as any drunk in Amsterdam.

It’s the Jewish Tradition that ingrains in us not to murder. It is very prominent in our teachings. So much so that it gets often said and assumed of us without much emphasis. That’s how it gets into the sub-conscience. Thou shan’t murder. But it all disappears when the brain is flooded by alcohol. When the wine is in, the wit is out. To respect human life comes from being taught, not from “being” morally superior.

That’s how Jews are also trained to be responsible, giving, humble, averse to seeking conflict or picking fights, etc. Not all of us. But on average more of us than of most other peoples.

Why Like Jews?

Some Gentiles like people and who are no bigots and therefore they like Jews (too). Some Gentiles in the Netherlands who saved Jews from the Nazis did not do so because Jews were so special to them. Either, they saved Jews they knew, who as people were special to them. Or they saw people in distress (because of anti-Semites) and they saved them because that’s what you try when you see a fellow human (or even life form or even anything unique) in danger. Nothing to do with being a friend of the Jews. “Just” being humane.

Then, some Gentiles love Jews as a deep form of respect. They see their holiness. They gratefully appreciate their wisdom of generations. When, as a Jew, you meet such people, you feel such a need to better yourself to be at least a little worthy of such admiration.

But then, same Gentiles love Jews out of believing nice prejudices about us. How warm and caring “all Jews always” are. Like Koreans and Chinese who assume that we’re all brilliant. Not so different from the next club.

And then, some people “love” Jews but in a creepy way. Like those who say “I love fish” and then eat them. That’s love but for the self; affection as “love for what they give me.” That way, some “love” Blacks, Gays, Women, children, Jews (and their music, food, physical closeness, beauty, happiness, etc.). When such “admirers” get irritated even by one of them, their “love” for the whole group can quickly flip to pure violent hatred.

Which Wrong People?

Sometimes Jews are “loved” by really immoral people. Con artists who like our nativity. Dictators who like our attentiveness. Crooks who like our smartness. Elitists who assume that we are rich and chic. Fanatical conservatives who assume that we are conformist.

We must reject their flattery, them using us — though we know that they will end up hating us. But we can only be that frank when the general population, and especially the working class, has embraced the Jews. If we anger the kingpins, our survival better not depends on them.

So, we can’t say to Putin, who loves Jews, to better stop oppressing Gays, journalists, and activists. He would add Jews to his list and the equilibrium in the Middle East would be in real danger.

And as long as the vast majority of nations has trouble supporting Israel, we can’t be too choosy about our allies. Yes, we get blamed for huddling with the reactionaries (by people who’d blame us anyway) but as long as democracies (Europe) are not squarely behind us, we’re taken hostage by some of the despots and shouldn’t blame the victim (ourselves).

But Trump we can tell to go to hell. And we should. It’s more important to cherish our connection with the other oppressed US minorities than to get a fake temporary blessing from a leading con artist who “loves” us for what we can give him — including the prospect of blaming us for everything (through “his” sole immoral and one terrified court Jew).

Meanwhile, real lying anti-Zionist, anti-Jewish Members of Congress get free speech. The US still doesn’t (know how to) stop hate speech. Scary.

Say, you’ve been in marriage counseling forever. Your therapist wrote a comprehensive plan for your relationship and tells you that upon reading it to you, he’ll quit helping you any further. Would you trust such a plan?

For this reason, not only Greenblatt’s resignation makes me suspicious. What’s going on that there is an apparent agreement between the Likud and Blue & White to have us vote unaware of what’s in the Peace Plan.

(Or will he step down to team up with Haley to be an alternative to Trump?)

And why would I trust ‘a friend’ who, even for humanitarian reasons, would not let Jonathan and Esther Pollard come to Israel?

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