Where is the tough-talking Minister of Security now?

He’s being accused that, decades ago, he allegedly committed criminal acts and Jewish terrorism by employing a teenage girl, and of being a religious bigot and racist. He has filed a lawsuit for slander against the messenger, the reputable fact-finding TV program Uvadah from Ilana Dayan. Since then, an unconnected, reputable news source reported basically the same story with a then-teenage guy as the girl. Ben Gevir is a very experienced and accomplished lawyer, and may the best party win.

The Election Committee and the High Court have accepted him to stand for election, enter the Knesset, and be a minister on his assurance he is a reborn man, for years already, who doesn’t believe in the things he used to believe in. Yet, I note, he’s seen in a picture in 2021 sitting side by side with an ex (?) political buddy who was banned from standing for election.

I’m not aware of any proof of this repentance. He talks like a penitent to his supporters, which should show this as being real, but for me, his words are not that important. What really counts is, do they believe him, or do they take this as insincere words he needs to speak to stay in power? Too many, who openly hate Muslims and LGBTQIA+, voted for Ben Gevir.

* * *

As a minister, we’ve seen him since, what I consider, hard-talking to, provoking, and bullying Muslim-Israelis, and do nothing, that I know of, to stop the murder wave in Muslim villages. He did demand repeatedly the death penalty for Muslim terrorists who survived their genocidal attacks.

He’s obstructed a new bill that should have granted police and courts more protection for endangered women since, in his words, ‘it wasn’t balanced enough’ toward those accused of endangering females in their lives. He’s promised to return with a ‘better’ bill in 1 or 6 months. Since then, three more women allegedly have been murdered by their (ex) partners. These vile men have been called terrorists, but I didn’t hear Ben Gevir call for capital punishment for them. I’ve read not a peep from him about them.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis, at times more than half a million, have been demonstrating against the government’s planned legal overhaul for over 13 weeks now. The number of left-wing activists arrested for violence is really insignificant. But we have now seen two counter-demonstrations of possible supporters of this legal coup, with reports of violence against Muslims and reporters before, during, and after their lifeless protests speaking of the worst hatred and racism, but here again, he is silent.

The police, thank Heaven, are trying to bring these people to justice, but the police aren’t under his command. He did accuse the handful of violent left-wing activists of being anarchists. This he also said about a couple of dozen guys who blocked streets. But the right-wingers were worse despite their pathetic numbers at their demonstrations. But they were not verbally abused by the minister. Is this a man who has repented? Not that I can tell.

So, it should not surprise anyone that a respectable Israeli news outlet accuses him of siding with the latest Jewish terrorists instead of the State.

The fear among the police and of the AG about Ben Gevir’s new militia that Netanyahu gave him, I think, is justified but premature. That is because at the end of the fake negotiations break about the judicial reform, in another four weeks, this coalition will fall, and he won’t have his tiny little army after all. BTW: The police, border police, and IDF would eat them for breakfast, but killing (insurrectionists) is never fun.

I don’t think I need to comment on the following sequence of facts as it is clear enough as is. First, he told police, be tough on leftist demonstrators. Then, that was undercut in total. Then, he asked for his own private police force. And now he criticizes a police officer for being too violent.

In contrast to all of the above, Ben Gevir has now advised not to sacrifice an animal on the morning before Pesach. A token act of change, it seems.

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Deeds and silence speak louder than words. Jewish Law says you can’t just believe slander about Jews, but you can be cautious and protect yourself.

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