Gilad Atzmon's Blog, page 3
April 15, 2015
Ed Miliband And The Jews
By Gilad Atzmon
Just a few month ago, in a speech in front of the Labour Friends Of Israel Lobby group, Ed Miliband - the Labour party’s current leader, produced one of the most embarrassing statements in the history of modern British politics:
“I want you to know”, Miliband told The Lobby, “that if I become Prime Minister in less than a year’s time, I will be proud to do so as a friend of Israel, a Jew and, most of all, someone who feels so proud to be part of the community gathered here today.” (http://press.labour.org.uk/post/89056233474/ed-miliband-speech-to-labour-friends-of-israel)
I guess that many British people would actually expect their Labour party candidate to be primarily a ‘proud Brit’ as well as a friend of the Kingdom. I would have loved to believe that such a clumsy statement on Miliband’s part would be enough for the Labour party to expel the man from its ranks. After all, the above statement proves that more than anything, Ed is much more ‘Blue & White’ than ‘simply Red,’ let alone a British patriot.
Surprise surprise, Labour didn’t react at all. Even the British public, known for its tolerance, was very forgiving. Funny enough, it is the Jews who actually dumped Ed Miliband, they do not believe him nor do they like him at all.
A poll published last week in the Jewish Chronicle revealed that an overwhelming majority of Jews prefer the Conservatives over Labour. 69 percent of Jews questioned said they were going to vote for David Cameron’s Tories. Only 22 percent sided with Labour and Ed Miliband.
Rather than voting for Labour under the leadership of the man who vowed ‘as a Jew’ to be a ‘friend of Israel,’ our British Jews actually want a ‘Goy’ to dwell at 10 Downing Street. How strange? Or is it…
A few analysts have tried this week to grasp this peculiar Jewish collective attitude. They wondered why are British Jews so opposed to the first Jewish candidate with a realistic chance of becoming the country’s leader?
Haaretz’ writer Anshel Pfeffer suggested that “the most obvious reason being given to this question is that while Cameron is widely regarded as ‘the most pro-Israel prime minister in British history,’ Miliband is considered indifferent at best and by many as downright hostile to the Jewish state.”
However, Pfeffer suggested correctly that Miliband is far from being an enemy of Israel. As we read above, Miliband is a staunch supporter of The Jewish State. “He [Milliband] has repeatedly said he is committed to Israel’s right to exist in security and strenuously voiced opposition to any form of anti-Israel boycott.”
Pfeffer is kind enough to provide us with a further insight into Jewish identity, psychic, and ideological attitude. “Historically, the majority of British Jews supported Labour because they saw the left wing as staunch opponents of any form of racism, of which they were so often the targets. In the last quarter of the 20th century, as they became better integrated and wealthier, they began drifting towards the Conservatives, particularly when Margaret Thatcher, who represented the north London Finchley constituency, became party leader.”
What Pfeffer is saying is pretty simple. In the old days, Jews supported Labour not because they were ‘anti racist,’ but just because they didn’t like being persecuted as Jews. But as they moved up the ladder, they actually decided to support the party that is committed to big money and the fight against Anti Semitism. With 80% of our Conservatives MPs being CFI members (Conservative Friends of Israel), the Tory party provides all Jewish needs - it is good for business but it is also united against one kind of racism, namely ‘Anti Semitism.’
Pfeffer correctly states that “the last three prime ministers, all proud Christians, have all felt very much at home with the Jewish community. Miliband came over at best as a polite but awkward stranger.” By now this is easy to explain. The majority of British Jews prefer a ‘Sabbos Goy’ to run the country on their behalf; a politician that can be pushed and squeezed, a person that would take the country to the next Zionist global conflict without raising too many questions. A person that would support Israel when support is requested by The Lobby, a PM that would react to the imaginary fear of Anti Semitism even before the Jews themselves would sense such a fear. Only a dedicated Sabbos Goy can provide the goods. But Miliband will not be able to satisfy any of these demands. For the Jews, his Jewishness is clearly an obstacle. It only means that he will work hard to convey an image of impartiality and reason and, as we know, these two do not agree with Zion.
This Jewish attitude is far from being new, it is in fact as old as the Jews themselves. The Book Of Esther teaches Jews how to manipulate, mobilize and interfere with their rulers rather than becoming the rulers themselves. British Jews need a leader who easily succumb to their lobby pressure. They suspect that Ed may be more resistant than any other candidate and truth must be told, they may as well be correct.
April 14, 2015
At Last, Putin lifts ban on delivery of S-300 missile systems to Iran
Comment by Gilad Atzmon
Yesterday the Russian president has repealed the ban prohibiting the delivery of S-300 missile air defense systems to Iran. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov commented on the decision, saying that Moscow’s voluntary embargo on S-300 deliveries was no longer necessary, due to the progress in Iran’s nuclear talks made in Lausanne.
The Israelis are in a state of panic. Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz commented yesterday that "Instead of demanding Iran put an end to the terrorism its instigates in the Mideast and around the world, it is being allowed to attain advanced arms which will only spur its aggressions.”
Someone may want to remind Steinitz that it is actually the Jewish State that terrorises the entire region with its nuclear arsenal and other repeated genocidal acts against the Palestinian people. However, it can be interesting to learn from Minister Steinitz how does he manage to see a threat in an ‘air defense system’? I guess that the answer is simple. The news about the S-300 interferes with the Israel’s lust to violence - the idea that a Muslim State can defend its sky is something the Israelis cannot cope with.
April 13, 2015
In Norway This Week
Tonight (13/4) I am in Trondheim. Tomorrow night at Oslo House of Literature.
Venue: Oslo House of Literature / Litteraturhuset
Time: Tuesday, April 14, 2015, at 17:00
Address: Wergelandsveien 29, 0167 Oslo
The (ex) jewish writer and musician Gilad Atzmon will hold a lecture based on his book "The Wandering Who", which is a brilliant exposé of Jewishness and Jewish identity politics.
Gilad Atzmon supports a democratic one-state solution for Muslims, Jews and Christians, and explains why the two-state solution is not possible.
Gilad Atzmon was born in Israel, opposing Zionism. He emigrated to England, where he earned a Master’s degree in Philosophy at the University of Essex. He has lived there since, becoming a British citizen. He renounced his Israeli citizenship and now defines himself as "a British Hebrew-speaking Palestinian".
His clear voice against Zionism has led to numerous reactions and protests.
Please find more information at www.theoslowall.no
We would highly appreciate having you with us at the event at Litteraturhuset!
Best regards
Dr. Trond Ali Linstad
Friends of Jerusalem/Al Quds
April 11, 2015
My Invitation To Participate In Israel’s VIP Big Brother TV Show
By Gilad Atzmon
A few days ago, I was approached by the casting supervisor of Israeli TV Channel 2. He offered me a part in the next VIP Big Brother Show. For those who don’t know, Big Brother is a top rated reality show that follows a group of people who live together for six weeks in a sealed house while the general public spies on them 24/7.
Though I was flattered that some Israelis see me as a ‘celebrity,’ there was no chance that I would consider the ‘opportunity.’ I have not visited Israel for 20 years and have vowed not to do so until Israel is once again Palestine. The Israeli TV representative tried to persuade me with various incentives. First, he made me aware of a financial reward that promised to be generous. I explained to him that Jazz artists are not attracted to mammon; he would have to try something else. He then argued that Big Brother would provide an excellent platform for me and my ‘politics.’ The TV program enjoys 1.5 million followers in Israel and is by far the most watched Israeli TV program. I told him that I do not see any point in talking to the people of Israel, I am much more effective in talking about Israel. After three telephone conversations the Israeli TV guy understood that I was not voluntarily schlepping to Eretz Yisrael to be locked in a televised concentration camp for six weeks.
And yet, this peculiar episode highlighted one of the differences between Israel and the Diaspora. For the last decade I have been subjected to a relentless harassment campaign by Diaspora Jews both Zionists and the so-called ‘anti.’ Supporters of Israel and their Jewish opponents have been united in their futile efforts to silence me and wreck my career. They have failed completely. Over the same time period, Israeli media outlets have repeatedly offered me uncensored opportunities to share my thoughts with the widest possible Israel public.
Is it that Israelis are far more tolerant than our imaginary Jewish ‘anti’ Zionists allies (e.g., JVP, Mondoweiss, Max Blumenthal & Co)? The answer is clearly ‘yes.’ While Zionism is a proud celebration of Jewish particularities, Jewish ‘anti’ Zionism is a tyrannical attempt to conceal problematic Jewish cultural symptoms. The Jewish ‘anti’ Zionists are determined to block any attempt to grasp the root of Zionism in the light of Jewish culture, ideology and history.
This finding that has now been overwhelmingly documented has led me to believe that the Jewish anti Zionists are not a part of the solution, they are actually at the core of the problem. They have been paralysing the solidarity movement for years and they have managed to frustrate adequate scholarship into the root cause of Zionism and Jewish political power in the west. Jewish Anti Zionism is at best a controlled opposition apparatus.
Ten years ago at a performance by Artie Fishel & The Promised Band, my satirical musical project that mocked Jewish self-love, a Jewish progressive follower of my music approached the band after the concert. She said, “everything you say about us the Jews is spot on but why to share it with the Goyim?” At the time we were an Israeli band. None of us saw any problem in mocking ourselves or criticising ‘our people’ (I was then still a Jew). My recent invitation to participate in the Israeli Big Brother emphasises this dichotomy between Israel and the Diaspora. You can say whatever you want as long as you stay within the ghetto walls. But don’t you ever blow the whistle, don’t you dare share your insights with the Goyim.
Watch Artie Fishel & The Promised Band:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCJ4De0POGs
April 9, 2015
Hidden Agenda at Southampton University?
Brief introduction by Gilad Atzmon: The following is a very important and informative piece of writing by the ultra Zionist Mark Gardner (CST). Gardner is kind enough to tell us why the Zionist community was fearful of the Southampton University Conference. But he also reveals a devastating intellectual and political continuum between the UK ultra Zionists, the PSC (Palestinian Solidarity Campaign), the Jewish ‘anti’ Zionist campaigners and even Electronic Intifada. It was pretty astonishing and disappointing to find out that our ‘solidarity’ merchants (PSC, JVP, Electronic Intifada) ‘stood up’ for the conference and ‘academic freedom’ only when it became clear that the university cancelled the academic gathering. I will write an extensive analysis of Gardner’s article in a few days.
Hidden Agenda at Southampton University?By Mark Gardner
https://cst.org.uk/news/blog/2015/04/02/hidden-agenda-at-southampton-university
The cancellation on “health and safety” grounds of a planned anti-Israel conference at Southampton University is causing much controversy. This hides a deeper problem with the conference: its organiser’s insistence that Zionism can only be understood by deep reference and understanding of Jews, Judaism, “Jewish being” and “Jewish pathology”.
The organiser is Professor Oren Ben Dor, whose thinking sits alongside that of the better known Gilad Aztmon. Both men are ex-Israelis living and working in Britain. They both hold up Jewish anti-Zionists as some kind of ultimate supposed proof that Zionism can only be fundamentally understood (and more importantly opposed) as an extension of Jewishness.
Atzmon’s anti-Zionism has caused turmoil in anti-Israel circles. Most left wing anti-israel activists anxiously manufacture distance between Zionists and Jews (i.e. between anti-Zionism and antisemitism). Ben Dor derides such thinking as “politically correct” and opposes it every bit as bitterly as does Atzmon.
Atzmon’s insistence on linking “the Jewish Question” and Zionism means leftist Jewish anti-Zionists have led a fractious but largely successful campaign to have Atzmon declared antisemitic and beyond the pale within anti-Israel circles. Now, with Ben Dor at its core, the Southampton anti-Israel conference threatens to derail this.
As Jewish anti-Zionist Tony Greenstein has stated of Ben Dor’s association with Atmzon:
he has aligned himself with a small, anti-Semitic current on the fringes of the Palestinian movement.
Ben Dor is a staggeringly turgid writer and speaker, whilst Atzmon is a showman: but nobody is compelled to visit his website, read his book or attend his meetings. In the case of Professor Ben Dor, university students (Jewish and non-Jewish) are being taught by this man.
Ben Dor’s defence of Atzmon in Counterpunch gives some indications of his ideology and impenetrable style. It begins “...No thinking person could fail to be stimulated by the deep connections Gilad [Atzmon] makes”.
It emphasises the link between Zionism and “Jewish being and thinking” and asks if the original aggressive Jewish “victim mentality” and “choseness” persist into Zionism:
...Zionism can be conceived as a symptom the non-empathetic manifestations of which are historically and existentially continuing certain facets of Jewish being and thinking. It is very important to ask whether the originary aggression of victim mentality as well as the choseness-begotten separateness existentially links the Zionist and the Jewish question.
It opposes attempts to “sever the deeper ontological connection” of the “Jewish Question with the Zionist Question”. (Ontological means“the nature of being”.) Ben Dor says this is so deep, that Jews perhaps cannot even oppose Zionism:
...The anti-Zionist struggle must not encage itself in too simplistic a link between the Jewish Question with the Zionist Question–a simplistic link that in fact craves to sever the deeper ontological connection that might persist between the two questions...this very denial of the existential link between the Jewish Question and the Zionist Question – a link that is suppressed by formulations such as "Jews Against Zionism" or, more broadly, by many attempts of "Jews" to become anti-Zionist – that needs to be questioned and destabilised.
He then implies that the meaning of the Jewish link with Zionism means that it is not sufficient to only challenge “the symptom – Zionism”:
To be an anti-Zionist without due regard to that being and thinking that Zionism may so tragically continue, may well be to confuse symptom and cause, thus perpetuating that history that leaves the symptom – Zionism – intact...
On and on Ben Dor waffles, until he hits upon the Holocaust, stripping its meaning for Jews. This is where his ivory tower is perhaps at its ugliest.
Despite his family having lost many relatives in the Holocaust, Ben Dor shows a startling failure on the most basic human level to accept that Jewish backing for Israel (ie Zionism) is an overwhelmingly natural and human reaction to the Holocaust. He goes further, suggesting that Nazi perpetrators were somehow captives of a deeper historical force that may repeat in the future. Ben Dor does not explicitly rule out the possibility that this “corruption” “between humans and Being long ago” is somehow due to Jewish longevity and influence:
The horrors and murderous violence against Jews may have been a response to events that had corrupted the relationship between humans and Being long ago. Grasped thus, the Holocaust may have been severely distorted by National Socialism; by those who are said to "deny" the Holocaust by some arguments about facts; by self-righteous Jews-against-Zionism; by Zionists. All these forms of forgetfulness of the Holocaust may well be on a common matrix of denial. Indeed this denial may constitute a chronicle of another Holocaust foretold.
My point is that the Holocaust’s significance lies beyond the actions by the Nazis who actually perpetrated the violence and who justified these actions by turning this significance into a militarist object of an idea. The same claim can be made in relation Zionists and their Jewish opponents.
None of this mumbo jumbo features in the actual Southampton conference programme. Instead, it reads as just another faux academic anti-Israel hate fest. Which of its many attendees and defenders even know of Ben Dor’s deeper animosities is open to question: but these animosities are fundamental to his ideological position and place him firmly in the same ball park as Atzmon. An environment in which antisemitic discourse is permitted, even if not fully endorsed and encouraged...thus far.
If Ben Dor is now to be defended within current mainstream leftist anti-Israel and anti-Zionist discourse, this represents a significant lurch towards an anti-Zionism that holds Jews and “Jewish being” as fundamentally responsible for every crime that is laid at Zionism’s door. The antisemitic danger of such a shift is blatant.
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For a more comprehensive view of Ben Dor's animosity, the below video should be viewed. It is too long to summarise, but these give a taster of it:
10.50 [self hatred mentality] "stems...from sublimated hatred of, and supremacy towards, all others"
15.55 "It is the denial that there is something so Jewish in that which has provoked the Holocaust; and the dealing with which has been so successfully postponed by the Holocaust"
18.19 [on Jewish anti-Zionists] "Nothing would prevent them for going and celebrate many feasts of hatred of all others"
18.50 "the connective tissue to the Jewish pathology that actually moves Zionism and the deeper historicity that Zionism is just a fleeting phase of"
UKVIBE's Album Review - The Whistle Blower
If the name Gilad Atzmon is not already familiar to you, then the chances are that you will have already heard his wonderful multi-reed skills on a song by either Robert Wyatt, the Blockheads, or even Paul McCartney, and quite likely on the most recent album by Pink Floyd. However,
Read more:
To buy The Whistle Blower:
Fanfare.website (cd)
Fanfare.website (download)
April 8, 2015
BDS direct action Norway Oslo
On March 30th 2015 BDS Norway conducted a war-stunt in front of the Norwegian Parliament
BDS Norway calls upon the government and Norwegian arms manufacturers to end all military trade and cooperation with Israel.
BDS Norway has previously held actions against the Norwegian weaponry producers, Nammo at their headquarters in Raufoss, and Chemring Nobel in Hurum.
We know that Norwegian weapons have been used against thousands of civilians in Gaza.
An end-user declaration on weaponry is an easy way to prevent this from happening.
We as Norwegian citizens and stockowners of Nammo require that the necessary steps be taken to guarantee that we are not contributing to violations of international law in Palestine.
We also demand that Norway ends all military trade with Israel until it complies with international law.
BDS Norway plans to continue with similar actions until we see change in the current Norwegian practice.
For more info, contact us: bdsnorge@gmail.com or
visit our Facebook/Twitter accounts: BDS Norway
April 7, 2015
All About Jazz: Gilad Atzmon And The Orient House Ensemble: The Whistle Blower (2015)
By BRUCE LINDSAY
Saxophonist Gilad Atzmon is a giant of jazz—an imposing physical presence, a huge personality, technically masterful and emotionally committed to every note. On The Whistle Blower, the Orient House Ensemble's eighth album since it formed in 2000, he's joined by long-term Ensemble members Frank Harrison on piano and Yaron Stavi on bass along with new recruit drummerChris Higginbottom. The band is as strong as ever, the album a worthy addition to its discography.
To buy The Whistle Blower:
Fanfare.website (cd)
Fanfare.website (download)
Atzmon is an in-demand session player—he's on Pink Floyd's The Endless River (Columbia, 2014)—a producer and a long-term member of the much-loved Blockheads. However, it's the Orient House Ensemble that best represents his personal take on music, a quartet that's recorded some strikingly exciting original work as well as a loving tribute to Atzmon's early inspiration, Charlie Parker, (In Loving Memory Of America, Enja, 2009).
In his poetic self-portrait on The Whistle Blower's sleeve Atzmon describes the compositions as "about love, nostalgia, devotion and simplicity" and himself as "a reactionary existentialist," "the enemy of progress" and "the Imam of retro." Crucially, he also states "I am happy." The album title is a self-deprecating reference to Atzmon's instruments of choice as well as to his political activism.
The Whistle Blower is the first release on Atzmon's own Fanfare Jazz label. Atzmon wrote all of the tunes, mixing the sounds of his early years in the middle east with rock grooves and bebop flourishes. His playing focuses on the alto and soprano saxophones, but his accordion playing is also worthy of note, adding a jauntier and more upbeat feel to his often plaintive reeds.
"Gaza Mon Amour" is a fiery opener—fast, danceable, energetic and positive. The following half-dozen tunes have a gentler, mellower, vibe. "Forever" is a beautiful ballad, Atzmon's romantic side emanating clearly from his soprano sax. "The Romantic Church" is another slow tune, Atzmon's alto and Harrison's piano are cool, Harrison's keyboards add a string section feel and the result is a sophisticated success.
The 11-minute "Let Us Pray" takes inspiration from John Coltrane's spiritual jazz: it's an ambitious tune with some fine extended solos, though its impact would be heightened by reducing its length. The Gallic-flavored "The Song" puts the accordion center-stage and features the album's most graceful melody, while the dynamic "To Be Free" slowly builds and releases tension through soprano sax and piano solos. The Ensemble return to the romantic ballad with "For Moana"—Atzmon's paean to Italian adult-movie actress and politician Moana Pozzi, his "vintage romantic heroine."
"The Whistle Blower" is a cheesy, tongue-in-cheek, tune full of wolf whistles, clichéd rhythms, Tali Atzmon's wordless lounge-jazz singing and a rather jolly vocal chorus from the gentlemen of the Ensemble. It's all rather delightful, a reminder that Atzmon the activist and musician is also a joker—and he's happy.
Track Listing: Gaza Mon Amour; Forever; The Romantic Church; Let Us Pray; The Song; To Be Free; For Moana; The Whistle Blower.
Personnel: Gilad Atzmon: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet, accordion, guitar, vocals; Frank Harrison: piano, keyboards, vocals; Yaron Stavi: double bass, electric bass, vocals; Chris Higginbottom: drums, vocals; Tali Atzmon: vocals; Antonio Feola: vocals.
Record Label: Fanfare Jazz
April 6, 2015
Jazz Video Guy: Meet Gilad Atzmon - Jazz Musician and Author
Bret Primack questioned me on philosophy, Jazz, Jewishness, Palestine and even David Duke. Some new ideas...
