Gilad Atzmon is a jazz & world music artist, a novelist and an author focusing on ID politics.
Welcome to Gilad Atzmon's webpage. This site provides information about Gilad's musical and intellectual activity.
In this Al Etejah's Panorama program Gilad Atzmon elaborates on the dominance of Jewish lobby in the UK and America and the weak resistance it meets in both Britain and the USA. The activity of the Lobby clearly undermines the notion of Western democracy. We also spoke about the collapse of Left politics and future of Western thinking.
Could it be that Zionist-caricature Alan Dershowitz has resorted to comedy as he desperately tries to win his battle against me and my book? What else could explain this intellectually retarded Zionist mouthpiece’s repetition of the same old lies? A few years ago Norman Finkelstein established that Dershowitz is a plagiarist, but now Dershowitz extends this infamous title - Now, he’s actually plagiarising his own phantasmic fibs!
Just a week before Hanukah, fancying himself as a bit of a music critic, Dershowitz described me as an ‘obscure saxophonist’. This was amusing enough, but yesterday Dershowitz elaborated on his notion of ‘obscurity’. In an embarrassingly unimaginative and vindictive article he called Chicago University Professor of Philosophy Brian Leiter a “relatively obscure professor of jurisprudence”. For a native English speaker (and a Harvard Professor) Dershowitz sure has a limited English vocabulary.
Professor Leiter’s crime was obvious enough: he stood up for freedom of expression and open debate. He defended Professor John Mearsheimer who has endorsed ‘The Wandering Who’ and refused to bow to vile and relentless Zionist pressure to withdraw his praise for the book.
It was a few years ago that I grasped that Zionism was just one manifestation of Jewish political power in the West. But at the time, hardly anyone was either brave or stupid enough to tackle the topic. In spite of Israel defining itself as the ‘Jewish State’, despite the fact that the warplanes that dropped their bombs on Palestinian civilians were covered in Jewish symbols, still no one was willing to openly ask exactly what Jewishness was all about or what it stood for – and those few who did dare to raise the question were subject to total abuse until they took cover or just faded away.
It’s also been clear for quite a while that many Palestinian solidarity activists, intellectuals and academics have been begging for recognition from mainstream Western institutions. For obvious reasons, many of us have been fearful of open confrontation with exponents of Zionist power, whether mainstream Zionist media organisations or even those AZZ (Anti Zionist Zionists) who have managed to lodge themselves so comfortably within our ranks.
But recently things have changed and the popularity of my book ‘The Wandering Who’ (TWW) is just one example of that clear shift in consciousness. Somehow, we have lost our fear, somehow we have found the courage to say what we know to be the truth.
http://leftwing-christian.net/
You could almost, with a few minor modifications, imagine the same irate conversation taking place 2,000 years ago in the Jerusalem Sanhedrin:
“He hates anybody who’s Jewish or who has anything to do with being Jewish.”
“But he is a Jew! He was born in Israel!”
“He says he hates the Jew in him, and that he would like to get rid of anything that relates to his Jewish background. Nobody would take it seriously except that two prominent professors (a great many average people) have endorsed the book (his message) and told everybody to think about it, to reflect on it, to widely discuss it!”
“John Mearshimer (the Baptist) says, ‘Of course I do not agree with everything that he says (said) in the book (his speech that day on the mount)—what blurber (desert sage) does?’—he liked parts!”
“But there’s nothing in this book (that speech) that deserves to be liked!”
Clutching a copy of Gilad Atzmon’s The Wandering Who, Professor Alan Dershowitz recently did an interview with the abundantly-respected Fox News in which he referred to the book’s author as “some obscure saxophonist from England who nobody takes particularly seriously.” In fact, not once but twice during the interview we see a visibly upset Dershowitz classifying Atzmon as an “obscure saxophonist” while attacking two American professors who gave favorable comments about his book.
2x 1 hour interview. We discussed The Wandering Who, we spoke about Jewish Identity, Israeli Lobby, Zionism anti Zionism.
A very interesting interview.
Pt-1 http://youtu.be/RtQeKrC2kVc
Pt-2 http://youtu.be/aZHsHXgYcpQ
Source:http://www.montaguekeen.com/page757.html
I love those interviews with Rinaldo. The man is extremely clever and very knowledgeable about the conflict. He then takes his time and produces pretty amazing clips. We spoke about the Palestinian UN bid, Jewish Diaspora vs. Israel, TWW, Jeffrey Goldberg Vs John Mearsheimer and more..
Political Islamist - Osama bin Laden
Theodore Herzl - Jewish analogue of political Islamist?
The controversy over Gilad Atzmon and his book The Wandering Who, which I recently reviewed on this blog, raises a lot of important questions about history and the politics of the last two centuries. I make no apology for writing about this question again because some of the issues he raises are of great importance to questions relating to war and peace, the nature of contemporary capitalism, national questions and the composition of major classes in society, particularly the capitalist class. All these questions are of central importance to anyone who wants to see capitalism superseded by socialism – they also touch intimately on questions intertwined with the causes of at least one world war in living memory, as well as other traumatic and world historic events including the currents wars and now revolutions shaking the Middle East and neighbouring regions and states. So its pretty important.
Atzmon is not a Marxist thinker, but an idiosyncratic left-wing liberal, born and raised in a racist ethnocracy. His own rejection of a racist upbringing and his privileged birthright as a Jew in a Jewish state, has generated some ferocious rhetoric and not a little incoherence and misunderstanding by friend and foe alike in some cases. But Atzmon’s writings are significant: this is also acknowledged by his enemies, usually rabid Zionists though also a few semi-Bundist socialists who on most issues are on the opposite side of the barricades to the Netan-yahoos. My point here is not to dwell on that conflict, but to acknowledge the significance of his work on ‘Jewish identity’. If it was just, as his enemies proclaim, reheated anti-semitism from the pre-WWII years, Atzmon would be unable to defend himself against a tidal wave of universal opprobrium.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4147243,00.html
Introduction by Gilad Atzmon: The Wandering Who made it to Israel. Three days ago, Yediot Aharonot, the largest Israeli paper published a three pages article about The Wandering Who and myself. And as one may imagine, the patriotic Israeli media giant wasn’t very happy about the book, or my views.
But Yediot was at least brave enough to include an interview with me in Hebrew. In the interview I said many things that wouldn’t see daylight on any of our Western Zionised papers. The Zionist paper allowed me to say all those things that our Jewish anti Zionists (AKA AZZ Anti Zionist Zionists) insist to shove under the carpet.
For instance, I compared Israel with Nazi Germany -- I even told Israelis that from some perspectives, Israel is actually worse than Nazi Germany.
I told Israelis that an Israeli attack on Iran would lead to a shift in the vision of Jewish past and the Holocaust in particular. I believe that repeating these ideas in Israel in Hebrew in the current climate is my ethical duty.
I told Israelis that the holocaust must be opened to historical scrutiny.
Would the Guardian or the New York Times allow me to say it? Certainly not, or let us say, not yet.
Ynet, The Israeli patriotic ultra Zionist paper admitted that the book is a best seller and that it is praised by some of the most influential and distinguished academics around. Seemingly, our so called Jewish ‘anti’ Zionists are way behind such reasoned debate. They still pray for the book to evaporate.
Needless to say that the Israeli article provoked some Israelis to share with me their most violent fantasies - but interestingly enough -many more Israelis contacted me to thank me for telling the truth; and some even sent me very interesting documents which I will certainly use in the near future.
As I mentioned once before, ‘The People Of the Book’ is not the appropriate description of the contemporary political Jew. ‘The People Of the Cut & Paste’ is much more suitable. Yaniv Halily, the paper’s correspondent in London didn’t actually read the book: instead he copied quotes from discredited Zionist mouthpiece, Alan Dershowitz, who also didn’t read the book but copied from others. And as we all know, Dershowitz is notorious for being a plagiarist.
So in fact, part of the Yediot’s article is an embarrassing chain of Zio-centric plagiarists drivel. Seemingly, none of the plagiarists read my original work. They are clearly driven by a phantasmic trauma. Interestingly enough, The Wandering Who describes this very trauma in details.
I already addressed Dershowitz’ clumsy drivel here. Since Ynet, copied and pasted Dershowitz’ misquotes. There is no reason to deal with the matter once again.
As far as I am aware, the article didn’t make it to the Hebrew online Ynet (it is hidden in the Hebrew achieve), but yesterday it found its way to the English website Ynetnews. I guess that someone in Israel must have realised that it may be too dangerous to let Israelis grasp the truth.
The article in English contains some gross mistranslations and misquotes. It seems as if Yediot's writer failed to translate 'self hatred' into Hebrew. He has managed to come up with with some very creative ideas, such as ‘a Jew who hates Judaism’, and ‘Jew Hater.’ I will point at these mistranslations in the body of the article.
Israeli musician living in London publishes book filled with troubling anti-Semitic statements. 'Israel is worse than Nazi Germany' and 'The Holocaust narrative is historically illogical' are only some of his beliefs
Yaniv Halily
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LONDON – "We must take the accusations that Jews are trying to take over the world with utmost seriousness. Israel is the Nazi Germany of our time. In fact, Israel today is worse than Nazi Germany."
These harsh statements are not the beliefs of a German neo-Nazi, but rather of an Israeli living in London. The speaker is Gilad Atzmon, an Israeli jazz musician performing around the world, whose new book "The Wandering Who?" deals with world Jews and the State of Israel, and includes some very disturbing sayings.
Atzmon, 48, was born in Jerusalem and has been living in Britain since 1994. He is considered a gifted musician who performs in Europe's best jazz clubs, but also one of his homeland's most serious critics in Britain.
He has published quite a few books and articles blasting Israel in the past, but this time it seems he has crossed all red lines.
Rabid Zionist Alan Dershowitz is devastated by the success of ‘The Wandering Who’. He just cannot accept that professors and academics endorse the book “as ‘brilliant,’ ‘fascinating,’ ‘absorbing,’ and ‘moving’,” In his latest article he again misses an opportunity to debate the book, its message and its meaning. He prefers instead to indulge in the only things for which he possesses any talent at all - lying and bullying.
But why, I wonder, does Dershowitz insist on reducing a potentially ethical, intellectual and ideological debate to just one more Zionist exercise in mud-slinging? I can think of only two possible answers; First, Dershowitz lacks the necessary intellect to engage in a debate and second, that Zionism and Israel cannot be defended - ethically, morally or intellectually.
But there is also an amusing aspect to Dershowitz’s Zio-centric tantrum. For some strange reason, he believes that it’s down to him, an ultra Zionist, to decide who his kosher enough to lead the Palestinian solidarity discourse. “There is growing concern that some of Israel’s most vocal detractors are crossing a red line between acceptable criticism of Israel and legitimizing anti-Semitism,” he pontificates without really being able to point at any anti Semitism in mine or anyone else’s work. But is it down to Dershowitz or any other Zionist to define the ‘red lines’ of the solidarity discourse?
http://tostadaspeaks.blogspot.com
Gilad Atzmon’s transformation from a typical Jewish Israeli kid to someone who began questioning the Israeli narrative began when he heard Charlie (“Bird”) Parker with Strings on a late night jazz program. “I was totally knocked down. The music was more organic, poetic, sentimental and wilder than anything I had ever heard before.” Parker was the beginning of Atzmon’s journey away from being a believer in the Zionist ideology and his “chauvinist, exclusivist tribe” to being one of its staunchest critics. What completed the change in his life was a visit to Ansar as a young Israeli soldier. Ansar was “a notorious Israeli internment camp in South Lebanon” in 1981 during the first Israel-Lebanon war. “I studied the detainees,” he writes; “They looked very different to the Palestinians in Jerusalem. The ones I saw in Ansar were angry. They were not defeated, they were freedom fighters and they were numerous. As we continued past the barbed wire I continued gazing at the inmates, and arrived at an unbearable truth: I was walking on the other side, in Israeli military uniform, and I was nothing but a ‘Nazi’.” (page 6)
What a shocker for this grandson of a former prominent commander in the right-wing Irgun terror organization, raised on the notion of Jewish righteousness and Arab duplicity, to finally awaken to the truth about his country. “At the time of the Oslo Accords in 1993, I just couldn’t take it anymore. I saw that Israeli ‘peacemaking’ was nothing but spin. Its purpose ... was to further secure the existence of the Jewish State at the expense of the Palestinians. For most Israelis, shalom doesn’t mean ‘peace’, it means security, and for Jews only.” Moving to London, he began work on a Master’s Degree in philosophy at the University of Essex, began his career as a jazz musician, and began digging deeply into modern Israel’s character for answers to his questions about its origins, its inhuman treatment of Palestine’s Arabs, and its contemptuous regard for international law.
Central to Atzmon’s discourse is a discussion of what the word “Jew” stands for, a question that seems to him to be “taboo within Western discourse”. It is clear why. Begin to ask the question, and you are likely to get yourself accused of being an anti-Semite. And this is exactly what has happened to Atzmon. Though he presents a harsh criticism of Jewish politics and identity, there is not “a single reference to Jews as ethnicity or race” anywhere in the book. “In my writing, I differentiate between Jews (the people), Judaism (the religion) and Jewish-ness (The ideology).” If you’re “searching for blood or race-related interpretation of Zionism (you) will have to look for it in someone else’s book.” It certainly is not present here.
Introduction by Gilad Atzmon: The following review makes me especially cheerful. It was written by Nahida Izzat, a Palestinian writer and a poet whom I immensely admire. Nahida produces here an Exilic Palestinian and Muslim reading of my book. I am very flattered by this review.
The Path to Freedom
A journey from the narrowness of egotism to the splendour of Universalism
In his new book “The wondering Who”, Gilad Atzmon reflects on his transforming journey from an IDF “Israeli”, a racist tribalist, self-ghettoized Zionist, with exclusionist mentality, who was greatly influenced as a child by his “veteran Zionist terrorist” grandfather, into simply a Universalist and Humanist.
A courageous and enthralling journey that began in the most unexpected places, in one of the suburbs of occupied Jerusalem, Al Quds, and by no other tool than a musical instrument, a saxophone!
A journey that he didn’t choose initially, rather, he stumbled upon. He came to discover that in the world out there, where gentile live, raw talents, daring intelligence and breathtaking beauty not only exist but also thrive. This realization took him by surprise; it contradicted his basic supposition of his own and his people’s superiority as Jews. This revelation pressed on him by necessity to take a good look in the mirror, the inner mirror of the self.
Gilad describes how he fell in love and became fascinated with Afro-American music; it was that love that opened the door of escape for him and enabled him to flee the narrowness of the Ghetto of tribalism to the wide world of humanism. As he discovered the brilliance and the captivating beauty of the music played not by Jews, but by gentiles, moreover, most of those musicians were actually black, Atzmon explains: “… it was kind of a revelation. In my world, it was only Jews who were associated with anything good”.
Report/Review: Panel Discussion: Jewish Identity Politics / Launch of Gilad Atzmon's Book 'The Wandering Who?' at Resource for London, Holloway, London N7, 10th October 2011
http://www.rainloresworldofmusic.net
11th October 2011 (rev. 30th October 2011)
A Panel Discussion on 'Jewish Identity Politics' / Launch of Gilad Atzmon's 'The Wandering Who?'
Resource for London
356 Holloway Road, London N7 6PA
7.30pm - 9.30pm
Panel:
Gilad Atzmon
Glenn Bowman
Oren Ben Dor
Karl Sabbagh
Facilitator: Irving Rappaport
Much fanfare and advance publicity preceded Zero Books' launch of Gilad Atzmon's momentous book The Wandering Who? (reviewed here previously) and the accompanying Panel Discussion on Jewish Identity Politics. A substantial amount, if indeed not most, of this fanfare and advance publicity was actually generated by Atzmon's detractors, such as hasbara (propaganda) writers, Zionist media, and miscellaneous 'Jewish Anti-Zionist Zionist' groups such as J-BIG (Jews for Boycott of Israeli Goods) and their poor confused ilk. So actually, some degree of thanks is due these individuals and groups, for drawing even more attention to this important and fascinating event with their hysterical propaganda and calls to boycott the launch of Gilad Atzmon's book launch for The Wandering Who? and the associated Panel Discussion.
Talking about: TWW, The Israeli Lobby, Norway massacre, Israel Shahak, Shlomo Sand, John Measheimer & Stephen Walt, History & Temporality, Jeffrey Goldberg, Self Hatred and beyond..
http://www.redicecreations.com/radio/2011/10/RIR-111027.php
Gilad Atzmon - The Wandering Who?
October 27, 2011
Gilad Atzmon was born in Israel, now living in the UK. He is a successful jazz musician as well as a prolific writer. Atzmon writes on political matters, social issues, Jewish identity and culture. He specializes in writing about Jewish identity politics and how it fits into Jewish ideology. His papers are published in many press outlets around the world. Gilad returns to Red Ice to discuss his latest book, The Wandering Who. Jewish identity is tied up with some of the most difficult and contentious issues of today. In this interview, we‘ll discuss some of these issues including Jewish nationalism, Zionism, the Israel lobby and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. We also talk about the tolerance from the Gentiles and Shabbos goys. Gilad says many taboo issues need to be aired out to be fixed. Also, Gilad gives a warning about the serious problem he sees coming ahead. He urges people to stop listening to mainstream media and instead support the media outlets that are treading the deeper paths and moving beyond the boundaries of
Red Scribblings, is a rare entity-he is a left thinker. He employs reasoning and systematic analytical methods. In the following article he exposes the level of deceitfulness employed by Tony Greenstein and his ilk. Reading Red Scribblings is certainly an interesting intellectual exercise.
Tony Greenstein’s extended comment criticising my review of Gilad Atzmon’s new book The Wandering Who is indicative of a political method that can only lead to a ‘dialogue of the deaf’. It is a characteristic flaw of the fragmented far left that in political disputes someone is quoted out of context in such a way as to distort the meaning of their views, and a whole extended narrative is concocted to attack the falsified or caricatured version. This is not a good method, it not only actually leaves one’s interlocutor’s real views untouched, but it also makes the exchange impossible to follow to the uninitiated layperson.
Such practices make the left a laughing stock. In this case, however, there is an additional element of communalism in that Atzmon is being ‘punished’ by left-wing members of his own Jewish community not merely for being right or wrong about something, but also for speaking ‘against’ his own people. The peculiar ferocity of the attack not only on Atzmon, but also on anyone who disagrees with these people’s most extreme characterisations, is shown by the contribution of another Jewish leftist, Evildoer, who baldly admits he does not seek a rational discussion at all with leftists who disagree with him about Atzmon.
To read more:redscribblings.wordpress.com
Introduction by Gilad Atzmon: The following is a very interesting review by Heidi Vogel. Heidi is a great writer and an incredible musician. It is particularly interesting for me to be reviewed by another artist who is also sensitive to identity politics complexities and subject to self reflection.
Gilad Atzmon's "The Wandering WHO?" provides a fascinating and complex look into the many facets of this subject Atzmon calls "Jewish identity politics".
The book gives a glimpse into Atzmon's early life in Israel as an aspiring jazz musician and how he became the inspiring thinker and, as Atzmon says, "Humanist", he is today.
Atzmon details much of the history of Jewish tribal existence and it's influence on todays Jewish identity politics.
There are more layers to this book than one may realize at first glance and it becomes more powerful as one lets it unravel.
As Atzmon delves deep into the roots and causes of Zionism and modern day Jewish Identity, he explores some biblical interpretations, as well as many other writers whom Atzmon refers to in great detail.
Atzmon's ideas may be controversial to some as he appears to be and states in the book that he is a "proud self hating Jew". This fundamental "obstacle" to Atzmon achieving what some may consider to be a balanced work, may leave one feeling that the ideas he puts forth are lopsided, wherein at times there is no polar opposite given, as in debate, it may appear that Atzmon's ideas are not there to let the reader find their own answers and balance. But it only appears to be so, for as one reads on, it raises so many questions that one does start to think for oneself and understands that this is exactly what Atzmon is trying to make one do.. in his own way.
It is rather obvious here that Atzmon has almost a "side" in that one could surmise and deduce that he is pro Palestinian and that is what is portrayed. This is not necessarily off-putting however, for the reader, as it is dynamic enough to implant knowledge and let ones own thoughts expand and take flight with some of the complex issues addressed.
Gilad Atzmon: It seems as if the panic around The Wandering Who has escalated tonight. According to the Jerusalem Post, the infamous Alan Dershowitz and the dubious Abe Foxman are now joining the desperate Zionist attempt to ban the book.
I obviously welcome them on board.
http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=242902
LONDON – Uproar has broken out since American academics John Mearsheimer and Richard Falk have endorsed a new book by a London-based Israeli musician accused of being an anti-Semite and Holocaust denier.
Chicago University professor John Mearsheimer, author of the 2007 book The Israel Lobby, and Princeton professor Richard Falk, the UN rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, gave promotional words for a book written by Gilad Atzmon.
His book, titled The Wondering Who, has been described as contemporary cultural racism and as an attack on Jewish identity inspired by Soviet anti- Semitism, by analysts and experts.
Renowned American law professor Alan Dershowitz said the book has crossed the line from anti-Zionism to anti-Semitism and said their endorsement was something he has not seen in his lifetime.
“I challenge Mearsheimer and Falk to a debate on whether they have endorsed an anti-Semitic book,” he told The Jerusalem Post on Friday. He said he plans to expose their action widely, both in the academy and elsewhere.
“Atzmon has adopted all the classical definitions of anti- Semitism, he uses the same tropes borrowed from Protocols of the Elders of Zion and other Nazi publications – that Jews control the world, are responsible for the credit crunch, believe Hitler was right,” he told the Post.
“[Mearsheimer and Falk] have crossed a red line that has never been crossed in my lifetime.
Jewish Identity Politics' Panel Discussion was followed by a very interesting Q&A session. We discussed the following: Anti Semitism, Jews and the Left, Kosher vs. Progressive, Jesus vs. Marx, identity vs. identification and more...
Pt 6-What is so unique about anti Semitism? Left and Judaism, the role of the Internet, Jewish ideology as a form of supremacy.
Introduction by Gilad Atzmon: Reviews for The Wandering Who keep coming. So far I didn’t see a single bad review. We have seen Zionists and Jewish ‘anti’ Zionists A.K.A AZZ (Anti Zionist Zionists) desperate attempts to ban the book, but, they’ve yet to offer any intelligible reasoning to do so. It is reassuring to see so many different people enjoying the book and reviewing it so positively.
The following review is written by Gaza Journalist Sameh Habeeb. It is, indeed, depressing to find out that Habeeb’s experience with the AZZ wasn’t particularly easy. It seems as if Habeeb knows what The Wandering Who is all about. He realises very well the political culture that is criticised by the book. “As a Palestinian”, says Habeeb, “I believe (that) this book adds more weight to the Palestine solidarity movement.” I am left wondering who should I listen to: Sameh Habeeb, the Palestinian from Gaza who read my book, or should I better follow the orders of some four dysfunctional Jewish ‘anti’ Zionists who insist to stop my book in the name of the Palestinians? I guess that you know the answer.
Paris, (Pal Telegraph) - Salman Rushdi caused tremendous chaos over his allegations against Islam. His book, “Satanic Verses,” which relied on his own personal harmed liberties in the West, caused damage in Great Britain. Rushdi was praised, won many prizes, and became an icon in the West for his open and loud criticism of Islam. He was even encouraged by the British Government, who still continues to protect him. Yet his work nearly ignited a civil war between the Muslim community in Britain and the police.
With Gilad Atzmon, it is totally different. Whenever this man tries to speak out on Israel or criticize the Jewish identity, he is accused of being an anti-Semite or a holocaust denier. Unlike Rushdie, he is not protected by British Government. In spite of many people saying he is the one of the best jazz players in the world, he can’t enter the world of celebrities. Is there a particular reasons? Indeed! His controversial and critical views of Israel are the key reasons. In his many daily articles, Atzmon tries to clarify the facts about the nature of Israel. For this, he is constantly under attack. His new book has recently drew the ire of the mainstream once more.
Karl Sabbagh explores the significance of The Wandering Who from political perspective and identity politics.