Israel extraditing Trump or anyone of his extended family? Unthinkable. There is no political basis in the Holy Land to return Trump to the US once he chooses to come to Israel and decides to stay here in exile.
How would that compare to just moving the US embassy?!
The whole Trump clan can immigrate and settle here and get new immigrant benefits as several of them are Jewish for the Law of Return. No sending away at the border because they are not Norwegian enough. Even when Trump is found out to be bankrupt (again) – admitting it or not – he will be admitted.
Also, the reach of the US Tax Authorities will be limited here. Of course, the Israeli paparazzi will be following them relentlessly but maybe that will give them a homey and important feeling.
They probably will get themselves a group of fancy homes in the high-end Herzliya Pituach resort (golf!) plus an optional Jerusalem house for Shabbat and Festivals and a Tel Aviv residence closer to cultural events.
Trump will make (good) money from speaking tours (some for free as charity), locally or (via the Internet) internationally and continue their political and economic discussions with Middle-Eastern Arab rulers.
(One unseemly thing that Trump has caused has gone unreported until now. It was always well-known that lying is rampant among (lawyers and) politicians. There are honest ones but they only confirm the rule. Trump has made a caricature of politics and in comparison, many now assume that most politicians are noble and frank. They’re not. They are liars and manipulators, not be trusted who must be held to their word. Almost all honorable politicians are just idiots – what good do they do?)
Meanwhile, the unsympathetic portrayal of Trump’s court Jews in the regular US press is gaining speed. After repeatedly depicting Steven Mnuchin as a bloodthirsty monster, now Jared Kushner is excessively on the chopping block. Michael Cohen, meanwhile, now as Trump’s enemy, is off the hook, but there still is no positive coverage about him either.
Also Israeli Jews are not spared in accusations of enabling a murderous regime. (The old trick: progressive countries won’t support Israel and then when it seeks support elsewhere, it is blamed. One of the most reactionary regimes Israel is close with is the US, but to that the US critical press is blind, of course.)
(If G^d wanted to set the whole world right, He should’ve done so before the Holocaust. He didn’t, so from that I prove that He will not do this any time later either. It’s our job to partner with Him and He’s awaiting our active participation. So you won’t hear me say that this polarization between Jews and their friends or the one hand and the rest of mankind on the other is part of the unfolding Last Days before Redemption (though it is tempting to posit this). Peace on earth will need to come from our effort. This should involve a stop to abusing our planet and its people (wars, exploitation!). What, exactly, is keeping us so long?
Most left-wingers seem to place their hope in some sort of a political Messiah, a kind of Ideal Leftwing Daddy (or Mummy) who should turn things around and save us all. Much more practical and useful would be to force a rightwing leader to do the right things for the planet.)
Mr. Trump, you’re more than welcome here. But you must keep your hands to yourself and not be too free with women or other people’s money or you’ll end up in jail here. Israel has very potent laws in those respects. Oh well, try to remember that you can’t have it all in life.
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