In Case You Are Around

 

Hello everybody, I am in the USA at the moment.

I will be very busy meeting friends, activists and journalists.

Some of the meetings are open to the public. In case you happen to be around here is the list:

29.6     7 PM Flying Squirrel Community Space 285 Clarissa St. Rochester, NY 

30.6  7 PM Billsboro Winery 4760 West Lake Road Geneva, New York.  The event is orgenised by Deir Yassin Remembered.

1.7 7PM  Mercury Cafe, 2199 California Street,  Denver Colorado

2.7 6 PM   Aspen Community Church, 200 East Bleeker Street Aspen, Colorado

03.07   7:30 PM  Plaza Americas - Houston, Texas (Sponsors: Al-Awda, Houston and KPFT -Radio For Peace. Co-sponsors: Arab American Cultural Center (PACC) and Palestinians for Peace and Democracy (P4PD)

06.07   6:00 PM  University of Texas - Austin Texas (Sponsor: Al-Awda)

In case you want to schedule an interview with me, please contact me via the sidebar contact box.

Peace Gilad

 

 

Touching Left, Islam, Israeli Lobby, Chomsky and Many other Hot Topics

 

Discussion with Gilad Atzmon by Miriam Cotton

Introduction by Miriam Cotton

Gilad Atzmon is a world renowned saxophonist and musician with a deep political passion for humanist issues and concern for the fate of the Palestinian people.  He has written extensively about the issue and been published widely.  As a self-exiled, former Jewish Israeli and IDF soldier, Atzmon’s perspective within the raging public discourse on Palestine is relatively unique.  His views are bitterly opposed by some among anti-Zionist Jewish groups, who accuse him of anti-Semitism and of being a ‘self-hater’.

Atzmon fiercely resists the charge of anti-Semitism and insists that he is concerned with a proper and thorough examination of the ideology of what it is to be Jewish – in particular about how the notion of the Jews as ‘a chosen people’ has led, as he sees it, inexorably to the rise of Zionism and its present disproportionate influence on world affairs. 

 

Atzmon also takes issue with the Western Left which he believes has failed either to recognize the true extent of Zionist influence (he singles Noam Chomsky out for criticism) and of not understanding how western Marxist/socialist ideologies are incompatible with Islamic societies and therefore can be of no use to them.   These and other issues are discussed with him below.  There are many things in what Atzmon says below that beg further question and comment but hopefully the exchange has served to illustrate his interpretation of the Palestinian situation and to provide an insight on a less frequently aired or understood perspective.

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Connecting the Zionist Dots by Gilad Atzmon

A few  weeks ago the Jewish Chronicle published a list of Jewish MPs in the UK parliament. It named 24 in total, encompassing 12 Conservatives, 10 Labour, and two Liberal Democrats. Author and peace activist  Stuart Littlewood elaborated on these figures and presented the following analysis:

“The Jewish population in the UK is 280,000 or 0.46 per cent. There are 650 seats in the House of Commons so, as a proportion, Jewish entitlement is only three seats. The conclusion is pretty obvious. With 24 seats, Jews are eight times over-represented. Which means, of course, that other groups must be under-represented, including Muslims…If Muslims, for instance,  were over-represented to the same extent as the Jews (i.e. eight times) they’d have 200 seats. All hell would break loose.”

A question must be raised here. Why are Jews overwhelmingly over-represented in the British parliament, in British and American political pressure groups, in political fundraising and in the media?

Haim Saban, the Israeli-American, multibillionaire media mogul offers the answer. The New Yorker reported  this week that at a conference last fall, Saban described his pro-Israeli formula, outlining “three ways to be influential in American politics…make donations to political parties, establish think tanks, and control media outlets.” 

As I have mentioned many times before, there is no such a thing as Jewish conspiracy. It is all done in the open. In front of TV cameras from all over the world,  listed Israeli Propaganda Author as well as British Foreign Secretary  David Miliband gave the Israelis a green light to operation Cast Lead, suggesting in Sderot that “Israel should, above all, seek to protect its own citizens.” Miliband, in practice, made us all complicit in a colossal war crime committed by Israel.  Staunch Zionist Lord Levy funded the Labour party when this party launched a criminal war that intended to erase the last pocket of Arabic resistance to Zionism. He also wasn’t at all shy about it. In the media, shameless Jewish Chronicle writers David Aaronovitch and Nick Cohen enthusiastically advocated the same criminal war in the name of ‘moral interventionism’.  Nick Cohen also founded the Euston Manifesto ‘think tank’ to support dubious Neocon ideologies on this side of the pond.

Levy, Cohen, Aaronovitch, Miliband are all in line with Saban’s formula: influence, donations, think tanks, media. Yet they don’t necessarily know Saban, and may never even have heard about the Zionist media mogul. It isn’t necessary. The fact is, Saban didn’t invent anything himself. His formula is deeply brewed in the Judaic religious tradition, Jewish culture and ideology.

 

United Against Purim

The Book of Esther is a biblical story that is the basis for the celebration of Purim, the most joyous Jewish festival. The book tells the story of an attempted Judeocide, but it also tells a story in which Jews manage to change their fate by means of political influence. In the story, the Jews do manage to rescue themselves and even to mete revenge, all through an infiltration into the corridors of power.

It is set in the third year of Ahasuerus, and the ruler is a king of Persia usually identified with Xerxes I. It is the story of a palace, a conspiracy, an attempted Judeocide and a brave and beautiful Jewish queen (Esther) who manages to save the Jewish people at the very last minute.

In the story, King Ahasuerus is married to Vashti, whom he repudiates after she rejects his offer to 'visit' him during a feast. Esther was selected from the candidates to be Ahasuerus's new wife. As the story progresses, Ahasuerus's Prime Minister Haman plots to have the king kill all the Jews without knowing that Esther is actually Jewish. Esther, together with her cousin Mordechai saves the day for their people. Esther warns Ahasuerus of Haman's murderous anti-Jewish plot. Haman and his sons are hanged on the fifty cubit gallows he had originally built for cousin Mordechai. As it happens, Mordechai takes Haman's place, becoming the Prime Minister. Ahasuerus's edict decreeing the murder of the Jews cannot be rescinded, so he issues another edict allowing the Jews to take up arms and kill their enemies, which they obviously do.

The moral of the Biblical story is rather clear. If Jews want to survive, they had better make their way into the corridors of power. They had better bond to the rulers of the world. With Esther, Mordechai and Purim in mind, AIPAC, Levy, ADL, David Milliband,  Saban and the notion of 'Jewish power' all appear to be an embodiment of a deep Biblical, tribal and cultural ideology.

However, here is the interesting twist. Although the story is presented as an historic tale, the historical accuracy of the Book of Esther is largely disputed by most modern Bible acholars and historians.  The lack of any clear corroboration of between any of the details of the story with what is known of Persian History from classical sources is what has led scholars to come to the conclusion that the story is mostly, or even totally fictional.

In other words, though the Jewish moral is clear, the attempted genocide is fictional. Seemingly, the Book of Esther sets its (Jewish) followers into a collective Pre-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It transforms a fictional fantasy of ‘destruction’ into a vivid ‘ideology of survival’. And indeed, some read the story as an allegory of quintessentially assimilated Jews who discover that they are targets of anti-Semitism, but are also in a position to save themselves and their fellow Jews.

The Book of Esther exists to form a coherent exilic tribal identity. It is there to plant an existential stress. It introduces the Holocaust mentality. Furthermore, it fixes the conditions which turn the Holocaust into reality. In hermeneutic terms, the text shapes the reality. In practice, it is the fearful mind the sets itself into a tragic trap of self-fulfilling  prophecy. The Shoa ideology matures into a real event.

Interestingly enough, the Book of Esther (in the Hebrew version) is one of only two books of the Bible that do not directly mention God (the other is Song of Songs). As in the case of Zionist secular ideology and the Holocaust religion, in the Book of Esther it is the Jews who believe in themselves, in their own power, in their uniqueness, in their sophistication, in their ability to influence, in their ability to take over kingdoms, and in their ability to save themselves. The Book of Esther is all about empowerment. It conveys the essence and metaphysics of Jewish power, as described by Haim Saban and performed by AIPAC.

Zionism and Democracy

Zionists seem to love democracy. The Jewish state outrageously claims to be ‘the only democracy in the Middle East’. Israel’s supporters around the world also advocate conflicts in the name of ‘democracy’. Why do they love democracy so much? I guess that the answer is devastatingly simple. Democracy is the ideal political platform for the Zionist influence merchant.

Democracy in its current state, especially within the English-Speaking world, is a political system that specializes in positioning inadequate, unqualified and dubious characters in leading positions. Two democratically elected leaders launched the illegal war in Iraq. Two democratically elected leaders marched the west into a financial disaster. 

Running a state is not an easy task. It surely takes some talent and training. In the past, our elected political leaders were experienced politicians who had achieved something in their lives, whether in academia, industry, military or the financial world. In the past, our candidates for premiership had a curriculum vitae to share with us.  Apparently this is not the case anymore. Time after time we are left with a ‘democratic choice’ to give our vote to one or another laughable young failure.  Time after time we see rising political ‘stars’, people have really achieved nothing in their lives, and who are unqualified to run even a corner shop, let alone a state.

You may want to ask yourself what qualification Blair or Bush possessed before they took the wheel in their hands. What experience does David Cameron have at his disposal in order to rescue Britain from total disaster on every possible front (financial, Iraq, Afghanistan, education, NHS and so on)? What kind of experience does David Miliband bring with him in the bid for the Labour premiership?  The answer is none. Our lives, our future and the future of our children are in the hands of ludicrous, clueless characters.   This may explain why Britain ended up with a hung Parliament. Not a single leader in this country could convince the public that he had the talent, the integrity or even just a seed of true leadership.

But here is the news. As much as our elected leaders are totally clueless, the Sabans, the Lord Levys and the Wolfowitzes know exactly what to do. The Jewish religion, culture and ideology provides its followers with a narrative that saves us of the democratic limbo. The Sabans of this world are far from being amateurs or clueless; they know exactly what to do. They have been doing it for three thousand years.  They are the followers of Mordechai and Esther. The Sabans of the world know how to translate the moral of Purim into British and American practice. 

Stuart Littlewood seems to wonder why Jews are over-represented. With Purim in mind, we may be able to suggest an answer. We are dealing here with an exilic cultural setting that preaches for lobbing, influence and control. Shaping politics, media and thoughts is the true meaning of the Book of Esther. Saban was either just genuine or foolish enough to admit it in public. However, the absence of a Book of Esther within the heart of Muslim or Hindu culture may explain why other marginal migrant groups in Britain are adequately and proportionally represented in British politics and media. Moreover, it is unlikely that this will change soon.  As opposed to most minorities and marginal identities in the West, Judaism is an exilic national  religion and the Jewish identity is a product of tribal indoctrination. This may explain why emancipated Jews who live in Britain for generations as seculars still operate within Jewish political and social settings, and under Jewish political banners.

It is not a secret that a few Jews out there are very gifted. It is also rather obvious that some Jews are amongst the leading contributors to the humanist and universal discourse. However, this is not something we can say about Haim Saban, who openly desires to influence American foreign policy by means of donations, think tanks and media control. Similarly, David Milliband, who struggled to amend British universal Jurisdiction to make it easy for Israeli war criminal visit his kingdom, should not be regarded as a great  humanist either. Nick Cohen, who founded the Euston Manifesto, a think tank that promotes Zionist interests within British intellectual culture, cannot be regarded as an ethical icon. Amazingly enough, they all did it in the open.

If we care about peace and about our future generations, we must be brave enough to connect the dots. The Mordechais and Esthers within our media, intellectual and  political life must be confronted. We must unite against Purim. If the Labour party still carries any ethical responsibility, it should put David Milliband in his place. If our parties want us to believe in their agendas, they had better learn to say “NO” to Zionist money and Jewish proxy donators. If our media outlets want us to believe in their ‘impartiality’, they had better identify the enemy within. How many Iraqis will need to die before the penny drops? How many peace activist should die in high seas before we all say ‘NO more’?  How many British workers will need to lose their jobs, homes and hopes before we can allow ourselves to say “NO” to Zionist wars and their advocates in our midst?

 

 

 



Gilad Atzmon at The Ugly Truth Radio Podcast

http://mark1marti2.wordpress.com/

Show Post on the Internet on Wednesday, 23 June 2010: Gilad Atzmon

Lutheran clergyman and ex-Republican and Constitution Party political activist Mark Dankof, joins host Mark Glenn on The Ugly Truth for a conversation with Israeli-born, British jazz saxophonist Gilad Atzmon. Show Post on the Internet on Wednesday, 23 June 2010. Listen here

Gilad Atzmon for The Guardian (UK)

Born on June 9, 1963, Gilad Atzmon’s musical career has been matched by one as a political activist critical of Jewish identity, Judaism, and Zionism. A feature story by John Lewis in the British Guardian on Atzmon in March of 2009 chronicles the controversial musician’s life.  Widely read in the Arab world, Mr. Atzmon’s views were the subject of recent major coverage in the Arab News. An excerpt from the latter piece states:
 
According to the famous Israeli-born Jazz musician, Gilad Atzmon, “The ideology that carried out execution-style killings on the Gaza aid flotilla the ‘Mavi Marmara’ is the same ideology that carried out the massacres at Deir Yassin, Qibya, Sabra and Shatilla, Qana, Gaza, Jenin and the murder of Rachel Corrie — more than that it is the same ideology that killed Christ.”
 
Listen to the interview here.
 
Mr. Atzmon’s album, Exile, was the BBC’s jazz album of the year in 2003.  The Amazon listing for the recording may be accessed here.  Ari Davidow’s review of Exile may be accessed here.
  

Another Glimpse into ‘Jewish Humour’ by Gilad Atzmon

As the rest of the world is becoming aware of Israel being an outlaw terrorist state, the Hasbara jokers in Tel Aviv are determined to save their doomed State by the means of ‘Jewish humour’.

Two weeks ago they circulated We Con the World , a ‘satire’ on the Mavi Marmara ‘terrorist clan’. It backfired immediately.  Israel was quick to apologise.  At the end of the day, the Mavi Marama was a peaceful humanitarian mission.  It was attacked by murderous Kosher pirates in high seas.

This week the Israelis  repeat the same mistake. Using a similar type of satire, they call Muslim leaders terrorists. Someone should remind the Israelis that their efforts are in vain. If anything these videos provide us with a genuine glimpse into Israeli revolting racism. These videos are actually a true image of Israeli projection of their own lethal militant aggression.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmffgIqlAYA

Paul Larudee*: Account of my Capture and Imprisonment as part of the Freedom Flotilla

Abuse at the Hands of the Most Moral Army in the World 

Sorry if this account is a bit dry. It was created for legal purposes, but I'm not sure I'll ever get a chance to improve upon it, so I thought I should make it available for those who might be interested. Please note that at no time did the prison authorities allow daily outdoor exercise, access to telephones, or access to a lawyer. This is illegal even under Israeli law. 

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Shooting and Sobbing by Gilad Atzmon

Hold your breath. This in not a joke, this is not a satire. It is real almost as much as it is pathetic. Israeli Ynet just reported that the images of captured Israeli commandos published in Turkish papers opened “...old wounds among those Israeli commandos involved in similar circumstances. Thus far, at least four combat soldiers have reported worsening of their (mental) condition”
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Gilad Atzmon Interviewed by Shabana Syed

Time for world to confront Israel: Gilad Atzmon

http://arabnews.com/opinion/columns/article66233.ece

Israeli-born British jazz saxophonist Gilad Atzmon

According to the famous Israeli-born Jazz musician, Gilad Atzmon, "The ideology that carried out execution-style killings on the Gaza aid flotilla the 'Mavi Marmara' is the same ideology that carried out the massacres at Deir Yassin, Qibya, Sabra and Shatilla, Qana, Gaza, Jenin and the murder of Rachel Corrie — more than that it is the same ideology that killed Christ."

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The Helen Thomas' Resolution by Gilad Atzmon

Those who are  engaged in the Palestinian solidarity discourse are familiar with two visions of conflict resolution: the ‘Two State Solution’ and the  ‘One State Solution’. This week we have learned about a third possibil resolution that seems to me the most reasonable and ethical considering the circumstances.   Helen Thomas, the 89 years old doyenne of the White House press corps,  sketched it in one sentence. When asked by a Rabbi holding a camera: "where should Israelis go", she said Jews should “get the hell out of Palestine”. When the Rabbi challenged her, she made it plainly clear: “they should go home to Poland, Germany, America and elsewhere”

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Howard Stern on Helen Thomas

If you have a strong stomach, take a second of your precious time and read  Howard Stern on Helen Thomas.

"Maybe you (Helen Thomas) should go home,..  Maybe you should go back to where you came from. Maybe you should go to Lebanon now that we don't need you anymore as a reporter. You big fat cow. I like that she thinks she's from America so she's where she is. She's where she's supposed to be. She should go back to Lebanon. I don't know why she's here. She's occupying America with her big, fat ass… Hopefully the planet will be rid of her soon. Maybe she'll stroke out or something. That would be nice." (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-blakeman/lazy-reporters-politician_b_609457.html)

 

If you have ever wondered how is it that Jewish history is saturated with  suffering. Howard Stern may be one answer amongst many.