Dershowitz is correct (new video)

By Gilad Atzmon

Dershowitz is correct - CNN and The New York Times are not the problem. As Dershowitz says, “we (the Jews, I guess) can handle that.” The real problem, according to Dershowitz is Gilad Atzmon. Unlike the CNN and The NY Times, that can be easily pressured by the lobby, I am indeed fascinated by truth seeking, peace and justice. 

I guess that by the time ethnic cleansing advocate Dershowitz stops lying about my book and its content, he may grasp why leading humanists are siding with me rather than him. 

For the time being, we are left with Dershowitz’ acknowledgment that I am  Israel’s biggest Problem.  I believe that considering myself being a Jazz artist,  this is slightly over the top. However, I guess that this statement alone may sell a few more copies of The Wandering Who.


 The Wandering Who? A Study Of Jewish Identity Politics

  The book can be  ordered  on Amazon.com  or Amazon.co.uk

 

“Israel’s Most Dangerous Enemies”

By Gilad Atzmon

For a while I have been worrying that my most devoted and enthusiastic American campaigner is ill or even just gave up on me. But it seems that Alan Dershowitz is alive and kicking. Yesterday he admitted that together with Ilan Pappe and Neve Gordon, I am amongst the most dangerous enemies of Israel.

Isracampus reported yesterday that notorious ethnic cleansing advocate Dershowitz suggested that “some of the worst enemies of Israel are themselves Israelis.” He referred to Neve Gordon, Ilan Pappe and Gilad Atzmon. “In spite of the fact that the last two have emigrated from Israel, Dershowitz says that these three, and people like them, are people who wrap themselves in the Israeli flag only for the purpose of burning it. The only time these people claim to be Israelis at all is when they wish to wave this as a certificate to legitimize their own malicious and unreasonable attacks against Israel."

Again Dershowitz is lying. I do not intend to talk on behalf of Pappe or Gordon but for myself, I have never wrapped myself with an Israeli flag. A long time ago I stripped myself of both Jewish and Israeli identities. Unlike book burner Dershowitz, I am not interested in setting fires but always enthusiastic for truth, justice and peace, I am certainly searching for light.  

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Why I Won’t Be At The Protest Today

by Laura Stuart

Today there is a protest in London in support of the Palestinian Hunger Strikers, but I won’t be there. Not because I not totally against administrative detention and against the occupation, clearly administrative detention and occupation are morally wrong.

But I have come to the conclusion that such actions as protesting outside the Israeli embassy or Downing Street have zero value, of course it’s always nice to see my friends and fellow activists but I keep asking myself – what does this really achieve? I go home after such a protest happy to have seen my friends but

thinking so what really happened there? We waved a few banners and shouted a few chants but in reality nothing – absolutely nothing changed.  More than 60 years of protests and of petitions have not changed anything on the ground for the Palestinian people.

As a Muslim I am convinced that the situation in the Middle East will change only when the Muslims and particularly the Arabs decide they want to take action. When the Arabs and Muslims reach this point then as we have seen with the Arab Spring even the most vile and oppressive leaders and regimes can be toppled.

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Thomas L. Are: The Spear Head of Justice

The Spear Head of Justice

http://www.thomas-l-are.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/spear-head-of-justice.html

Gilad Atzmon writes:

The lack of capacity to reflect upon oneself from the futuristic perspective, explains the Israeli collective complicity in some of their horrendous war crimes. This should be enough to explain why the Israelis sliced up the Holy Land with separation walls and barbed wires. It explains why Israelis drop White Phosphorous on their next door neighbors as they seek shelter in a UN shelter. It also explains why Israeli Navy Seal commandos ended up executing peace activist on the Mavi Marmara on the high seas. It also explains why newly-born Israel was quick to expel the vast majority of the Palestinian indigenous population just three years after the liberation of Auschwitz… People who defy history never look in the mirror.[1]

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Shylock in Yiddish

Amidst the  controversy concerning Israeli Habima Theatre  participation in  Shakespeare's Festival at the  Globe, London, I found an old treatment of Shylock in Yiddish.  It is slightly 'antisemitic' and even tasteless  but also pretty funny....Maybe we do not need Habima after all..

A comment on BDS and Ashtar Theatre from Ramallah

By Gilad Atzmon

In recent weeks we have seen a massive BDS campaign against Israeli Habima Theatre’s participation in the Shakespeare's Festival at the Shakespeare's Globe, London.

For days British intellectuals and celebrities argued whether it is morally ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ to invite the Israeli national Theatre to Britain. The outcome was obvious and predictable.  Habima’s London shows sold out within hours. As it happens, the futile BDS  campaign, provided Habima with the necessary public attention. At the end of the day, every reasonable thinking being would be happy to spare a few pounds and watch how the Israelis and Jews deal with The Merchant of Venice.


Richard IIHowever, I have also learned tonight that Ashtar Theatre from Ramallah is also participating in the same London festival. Ashtar will perform Richard II but, for some reason, no one really knows anything about it.  Pro- Palestinian BDS activists, so enthusiastic to ban the Israeli theatre company, did nothing to promote or support the Palestinian theatre. Consequently, Ashtar Theatre hardly sold any tickets for its London shows.

I guess that time is ripe to challenge BDS strategy. As much as I support BDS in principle, I am puzzled by the fact that a UK pro-Palestinian organization went out of its way to boycott an Israeli act -yet it did nothing to promote or help a Palestinian company visiting this country for the first time. 

As an artist I find it stupid. Painful and even perhaps, sinister.

To read more about the the Globe Theatre BDS Scandal visit http://www.deliberation.info

Richard II at the Globe

Palestinian Shakespeare at the Globe.

  1. Friday afternoon  4th May (2pm)
  2. Saturday night 5th May  (7pm)

Ticket and directions to the Globe Theatre London.

Ashtar Theatre from Ramallah @ The Shakespeare's Globe

Ashtar Theatre from Ramallah production of Shakespeare's political play Richard II about dictators, regime fall and love.  Rave reviews and sell out performances in Palestine - now coming to London for two performances at The Shakespeare's Globe  http://www.facebook.com/Richard2Ashtar

"the production probes the psyche of rulers doomed by the Arab Spring"

"Are you contented to resign the crown?" ..."Yes, no. No, yes," Richard stutters, igniting a roar of laughter from the audience too familiar with similar jibes aimed at Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Yemen's Ali Abdullah Saleh

Richard 2nd at the Shakespeare's Globe theatre

Friday afternoon  4th May (2pm) 

Saturday night 5th May  7pm

tickets & directions:   http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/your-visit/how-to-find-us

"We were amazed how deeply the play delves into the psychology of people and this moment in history," said actress and producer Iman Aoun.

"It's as if people and politicians don't learn. ...and it makes us realise how much the play resembles the present," she said.

The Shekel May Never Drop

By Gilad Atzmon

http://www.deliberation.info/

israel-nuclear

Ynet reported todaythat the European Jewish Congress fears that  Israel strike on Iranian nuclear facilities will lead to “dramatic increase of anti-Semitic, very violent attacks against Jews”

For a very short while I was cheered by what seemed to be a ‘Jewish institutional move’ in the right direction. I thought to myself, that at last, a Jewish leadership positions itself at the forefront of the battle for peace and reconciliation. Finally, we will see a Jewish political call against an Israeli preemptive attack against Iran. The shekel has dropped, I thought to myself. But I was obviously wrong, in fact totally wrong. The shekel may never drop. As it seems the European Jewish Congress is concerned with one thing i.e. Jewish ‘potential’ suffering and, of course, the ‘rise of antisemitism’.

Moshe Kantor, president of the European Jewish Congress, said he feared a “minority of angry, extremist European Muslims who live in impoverished neighborhoods might use an Israeli attack as a pretext to hit local Jews, particularly in France and Great Britain.”

Seemingly Kantor wasn’t concerned at all with the possibility of losing millions of innocent lives in the region. He wasn’t even concerned with the possibility that an Israeli attack could easily escalate into a regional nuclear conflict that may radioactively contaminate the entire region and some large parts of Europe.

Moshe Kantor, the president of the European Jewish Congress, an umbrella organization that claims to represent some 2.5 million Jews in Europe, is concerned with Jews only.

“If Israel attacks Iran, it will be a dramatic increase of anti-Semitic, very violent attacks against Jews,” he said.

­

Seemingly, there is no limit to Judeo-centrism, yet, I believe that Jewish leaders would do themselves and their communities a big favour if they, at least, make an effort to disguise their apparent lack of universal empathic consciousness and total carelessness for the rest of humanity.

Remember Deir Yassin

By Gilad Atzmon

http://www.deliberation.info/

Deir Yassin 2012 London

Deir Yassin 2012

 

Yesterday, after an absence of five years, Deir Yassin was once again remembered.

Deir Yassin Remembered is an organisation which exists only to remember the massacre of Deir Yassin of April 9th 1948. I became familiar with DYR in the early 2000s. I performed at a few DYR commemorations and each and every time I was overwhelmed. It wasn’t only the emotional intensity of the commemorations but also only at DYR events could one see the true commitment and devotion of the Palestinian community.

It is no secret that the one people who are rarely seen at Palestinian solidarity gatherings are Palestinians. They are hardly ever involved with the PSC or any other organization, but Deir Yassin Remembered is different. A DYR commemoration is no mere solidarity event – it is about Palestinians and only about Palestinians - their past, their present and their enduring suffering.

Dr Hassassian inscribes in the Book of the Victims

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On Marine Le Pen and Populism

By Gilad Atzmon

http://www.deliberation.info

lePenn

Marine Le Pen and The French’s Front National are the big winners in the French elections yesterday. France’s Front National scored the best ever presidential campaign first-round result (18% of the votes).

As elsewhere in Europe, the French far right is dealing with matters other political parties prefer to avoid or shove under the carpet. Yesterday results proves that many French are primarily concerned with issues to do with immigration and ‘identity loss’. While the so called ‘far Right’ engages with these matters, the Left and the Centre parties perform an escapist attitude – they prefer to vet the discussion via different means such as political correctness and even legislation. The media, would also shy away from the subject and would prefer to gate-keep any attempt to deal with the ‘unpopular’ topic.

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RT's Crosstalk on BDS- Walberg, Baddar and Atzmon (very interesting)

What goals has the BDS movement achieved so far? Does it aim for a constructive solution to the conflict? How should Israel react to it? Norman Finkelstein and Noam Chomsky agree that the goal of the movement is to destroy Israel – how valid is this judgment? Can the movement reinvent itself and win support from those who criticize it today? CrossTalking with Gilad Atzmon, Eric Walberg and Omar Baddar.

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Sarah Gillespie: 'The War on Trevor' (tour, reviews & clip)

Hello everyone! Below is some extracts of the great press we received for our launch of the ‘War on Trevor’ at Ronnie Scott's 2 weeks ago. We are continuing to schlep ‘Trevor’ across the UK & hope to see you soon at one of our shows! 

 24th April - Albion Beatnik Bookshop, Oxford, 25th April, Brutally Honest Rochester; 26th April - Vortex, London, 27th April - Wakefield Jazz ; 28th April St David’s Hall - South Petherton; 27th May - Black Mountain Jazz, Abergavenny; 3rd June Strawberry Hill Jazz Festival, Richmond-upon-Thames, 16th June, 23rd June - Dentdale Festival, 24th July Marlborough Jazz Festival.

***CLICK HERE TO SEE THE WAR ON TREVOR FILM***


‘A brassy Anglo-American babe with an acoustic guitar, Gillespie sung in a mischievous, beat-poet delivery ending her set with The War on Trevor, an ambitious 15 minute jazz-prog epic with a Kafka-esque narrative.’
David Sinclair - The Times

'Beautifully captures the disdain of both society and the state.. but aside from the powerful messages that one is accustomed to expect from Gillespie's albums, the new release also bears her trademark captivating style of music, produced by Gilad Atzmon’.
Mamoon Alabbasi - Palestine Chronicle

‘Sarah Gillespie sings the ‘Shami Chakrabarti Blues’ …in a partly comic, partly deadly serious take on The War on Terror. Gillespie at times resembles the much missed Kirsty MacColl in the way she gets her songs across. (Her) mix of jazz, blues and her own fine lyrics was a hard act to follow. Stephen Graham - JAZZWISE

‘Gillespie embraces politics with a relish familiar in the folk traditions she has absorbed but rarer on the jazz scene… She also sang All of Me like a bluegrass singer who'd gotten into Edith Piaf’ John Fordham - The Guardian

'Jazz star Sarah Gillespie is one of the most captivating singer songwriters on the scene today, and although her themes reveal characteristic political depth, they also have a bitter touch of ironic humour... A winning, witty gig.' John Watson, Express & Star

*** CLICK HERE TO BUY THE TREVOR CD****

www.sarahgillespie.com

Greg Felton: Activists who talk like zionists continue to betray Palestine

Introduction by Gilad Atzmon: five weeks after the publication of the unfortunate call to disavow me,  support keeps flooding in.  The following is Greg Felton's deconstruction of the statement (largely associated with Ali Abunimah).  Greg is one of my favorite writers, his books: The Host and The Parasite and Exploding Middle East Myths: 15 Years of Fighting Zionist Propaganda  are both must read.

 Activists who talk like zionists continue to betray Palestine

By Greg Felton

http://www.deliberation.info/

For some time now, I have been trying to get in touch with Ali Abunimah to ask him to explain his denunciation of Gilad Atzmon. I am used to Palestinian activists, Arab or non-Arab, attacking each other over this or that political or doctrinal difference, but this attack is worse than most.

Abunimah has been in the forefront of the anti-Zionist movement for years, and over that time has built a considerable reputation. His website, electronicintifada.net, is still an outstanding source for non-zionist (read: uncensored) news about the Occupation. Consequently, his denunciation of Atzmon was guaranteed to be influential and reach a large audience, thereby maximizing the potential damage to Atzmon’s reputation and scholarship.

The effect of the attack, though, has been suitably ironic. Rather than harm Atzmon’s reputation, Abunimah has elevated it beyond anything Atzmon could have done by himself. Outpourings of support have come from prominent activists like Kim Petersen, Alison Weir, Kevin Barrett, Mark Glenn, and Prof. Norton Mezvinsky. If Abunimah wanted to limit the reach of Atzmon’s arguments, he should have kept quiet and just let the hasbarats do what they do best.

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Where the ‘Self’ Ends and the ‘West’ Begins

By Gilad Atzmon

http://www.thespanner.net

When we were young there was hope in the air. There was good reason to look ahead. Some of us enrolled at university, but we also knew that if life did not shine on us, there were plenty of factories that offered enough jobs to those who were willing to toil. Yet it seems our children are not so lucky. Not much is awaiting them. The Western economy is on the brink of collapse.

When we were young, there were two ideologies around. In a cold manner, they bitterly chewing away at each other. One ideology maintained that equality and justice were the means towards liberation, whilst the other contended that celebrating one’s symptoms was actually the true meaning of human liberty. But it seems that these two ideologies have had very little impact on our life. In practice, we were all celebrating our symptoms - we were buying, selling, eating and drinking, but we somehow also enjoyed believing that ‘equality was a good thing’. Eventually these grand ideologies faded away and, not only do we not have ideologies anymore, we are not even capable of thinking ideologically. In the post ideological era, which we now inhabit, we kill millions in the name of ‘liberation’, we rain down depleted uranium shells on crowded cities whilst promising to export ‘liberal democracy,’ and we export Western ‘justice’ in Coca Cola cans.

When we were young, we reserved some respect for our political system. We somehow accepted that liberal democracy reflected our true values and beliefs. Fundamentally, we believed that it was a well-meaning idea and the best of all options. Hence we believed that at least theoretically, our democratically elected representatives were largely a true reflection of our desires.  

We were not stupid but we were somewhat naïve. Being the sons and daughters of the Enlightenment, we were submerged in self-love. We were rich and spoiled. Yet, clearly, we failed to notice that our most elementary freedoms were being gradually diminished until the ‘freedom to consume’ was the only freedom left. We were basically free to buy and spend, to borrow and then to spend again and, without realising it, we were being reduced to a nation of shoppers with the political system existing solely to facilitate consumption, on a constantly growing grand scale.

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