Gilad Atzmon: Jews, Jazz & Socialism

October 22, 2010 by Gilad Atzmon in Analysis, Cultural Criticism, Israel, Jewish Power, Jewishness, Politiks, Zionism, identity

How would you feel about a Radio show specialising in Aryan classical music? How would you feel about a radio show that features mainly, or only Aryan composers and performers?

I guess that I know the answer: you would feel disturbed, and you may even want to protest.

However, Mike Gerber, a writer for the ‘Jewish Socialist Magazine’ and a member of the ‘Jewish Socialist Group’ has a very similar agenda -- he is about to launch a ‘Jews only’ jazz radio show.

Here is an extract from his press release, which he circulated this morning:

“I'm Mike Gerber, author of the book “Jazz Jews”, as a result of which I've been asked to host a regular Jazz Jews show on the internet station UK Jazz Radio.……

My Jazz Jews show will feature: Jewish/jazz fusions of every kind; rootsy Jewish music such as klezmer; Israeli jazz; and there will also be a focus on Jewish Great American Songbook composers. I will play tracks by some of the many Jewish musicians who have contributed to jazz more generally...”

I assume that we wouldn’t accept an Aryan classical music radio show, yet a ‘Jewish Jazz show’ must be somehow kosher. At least kosher enough for www.jazzradio.com to host it.

I met Mike Gerber ten years ago. He came to my house to interview me about Jews and Jazz. He sat with me for many hours, desperately trying to squeeze out of me an insight into the inherent bond between Jazz and Jews

Gilad Atzmon: From Rabbi Yosef to Marx

October 20, 2010 by Gilad Atzmon in Analysis, Cultural Criticism, Jewish Power, Jewishness, Zionism

In case the Goyim cannot find a purpose in their life, Israeli senior Sephardi Rabbi Ovadia Yosef is there to help them out. In his Saturday sermon Rabbi Yosef revealed that the sole purpose of Gentiles is to serve Jews. “Goyim were born only to serve us. Without that, they have no place in the world.” The Rabbi was also kind enough to provide the Goyim with some precise tasks. “Why are gentiles needed? They will work, they will plow, they will reap. We will sit like an effendi and eat. That is why gentiles were created.”

I guess that it is about time the friends of Israel in Western politics started to fully comprehend their role in our Judified universe -- AIPAC and the Conservatives’ Friends of Israel do indeed, have a crucial function : They are there to ‘help’ our politicians grasp why they ‘were created’.

Robert Wyatt & Gilad Atzmon in Haaretz

October 15, 2010 by Gilad Atzmon in Analysis, Cultural Criticism, Israel, Jewishness, Palestine, Zionism, identity, interview

Haaretz published today a massive interview with Robert Wyatt and myself. It is a very interesting piece. I may also mention that the Israeli paper didn't censor me. It let me say it all (Jews, Judaism, Jewishness, Jewish left, Zionism, Israeli collective barbarism etc')

http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/haunted-by-ghosts-1.319263

Haunted by ghosts

Self-proclaimed anti-Israeli saxophonist Gilad Atzmon and prog rock legend Robert Wyatt have joined forces to make musical magic and "political noise"

By Yaron Frid

In 1963 a baby was born in Israel. In 1972 a man fell from the third floor (or the fourth - views are divided ) in England in the middle of the night. Both of them took off on the wings of music, and life would one day organize a surprising encounter between them.

The Ghosts within by Gilad Atzmon

This is a sad story with a jolting soundtrack made of the howl of a saxophone and the wail of a clarinet. It's a story of displaced persons who have no other country, featuring war criminals, Nazi-hunters and God in a cameo role, tempered by large daubs of irony and a few crumbs of hope.

Morning. Rain. Rail strike. Soho, London. Who is the huge chuckling fellow in the Italian cafe who is polishing off a schnitzel sandwich (washed down with tea ) and welcomes me with comments like "There is no light at the end of the Israeli tunnel"? Or, "I think there is something untenable, simply untenable in the fact that the Jews, who suffered so much racial discrimination, should establish a state that is founded on race laws." And, topping the charts, "I am dead against the existence of the Jewish state." It's still early in the morning, let me remind you. I-am-dead-against-the-existence-of-the-Jewish-state-and-pass-the-sweetener-please. Good morning to you, too, Gilad Atzmon.

The fact that the cafe is across from Ronnie Scott's famous jazz club offers a subtle hint about Atzmon's identity. He is one of the most acclaimed and in-demand jazz musicians in the world and he only enhances his glory - or totally destroys it, it depends whom you ask - when his mouth isn't otherwise occupied with a saxophone (or a schnitzel ).

Atzmon says he is dealing not with politics, but with ethics. Maybe in his case it really isn't just a matter of semantics. Or cosmetics. But we're here to talk about music. And about beauty. "This beauty which simply spills out of you," he says, "effortlessly, unconsciously, in the most wonderful moments of creativity, and when that happens you understand that you are only the carrier of the spirit, of something bigger than you, over which you have absolutely no control. I have no connection with that beauty, I just eat schnitzels. I am only the messenger. I don't look for the beauty, the beauty finds me and through me finds its way into the world."

Gilad Atzmon: Lieberman and the Jewish Political Continuum

October 10, 2010 by Gilad Atzmon in Analysis, Cultural Criticism, Ideology, Israel, Jewish Power, Jewishness, Zionism, identity

Following Israeli FM Avigdor Lieberman’s address at the UN last week, Aluf Benn wrote (1) in Haaretz:

“During the past few weeks, Netanyahu invested a great deal of effort in trying to convince the leaders of the world that he is serious about peace with the Palestinians. He asked them to ignore the resumption of settlement construction, and convinced Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas not to quit the negotiations.

Now comes Lieberman, Israel’s most senior diplomat, and tells all those leaders that… Netanyahu is faking. Even worse: the foreign minister is implying that Netanyahu’s demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state is merely cover for the expulsion of Arab citizens.”

Netanyahu, Barak and many other Israelis are often ‘outraged’ by FM Lieberman. I guess that Israelis grasp that their senior diplomat exposes the Israeli ploy: when Israelis talk peace -- what they really mean is war with no end. When Israeli government spokesmen insist that Lieberman “misrepresents Israeli Government’s policies” -- what they really mean is that he fails to repeat the Israeli official lies. As it stands, Lieberman’s UN speech few days ago, conveys not only Israeli cabinet vision, it is also a devastating glimpse into the Israeli mindset, worldview and spirit. Lieberman is a transparent image of the Israeli desire for racial and cultural homogeneity. Many Israelis claim to detest him and his ideas: but my guess is that they grasp that Lieberman is actually their true mirror. Otto Weininger wrote in “Sex & Character” that people hate in others that which they detest in themselves. Many Israelis ostensibly oppose Lieberman because he reminds them of the bigot whom they can’t stand in themselves. Some people do not like to look in the mirror; others are devastated when the mirror gazes back at them with pity.

Gilad Atzmon: Roger Waters and the Bombs of David

September 29, 2010 by Gilad Atzmon in Analysis, Cultural Criticism, Israel, Jewishness, Zionism

Ynet reported today that The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Monday criticized rock star Roger Waters for simply conveying the truth.

During Waters’ performances of “Goodbye Blue Sky,” in Toronto, an animated scene projects images of planes dropping bombs in the shape of Jewish Stars of David followed by dollar signs. It should be noted that the clip also displays bombs in the shape of crosses, Muslim crescents and a fuel company's logo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nc692sOW9U

We had better face it once and for all: artists are often significantly far ahead of our corrupted ‘liberal’ politicians, who, for some reason, keep silent instead of confronting the Jewish State.

Gilad Atzmon: Jewish Boat On its Way

September 27, 2010 by Gilad Atzmon in Analysis, Cultural Criticism, Jewishness, Palestine, Zionism, identity

Haaretz reported this week that a boat carrying Jewish activists from Israel, Germany, the U.S. and Britain set sail on Sunday for Gaza, hoping to breach Israel's blockade there and deliver aid.

9 Jews will participate in this brave mission: amongst them is Rami Elhanan, an Israeli peace activist whose daughter Smadar was killed in a suicide bombing in 1997. Elhanan rightly maintained that it was his moral duty to act in support of the Palestinians in Gaza because reconciliation was the surest path to peace. "Those 1.5 million people in Gaza are victims exactly as I am," he said.

Refusnik Israel Air Force pilot Jonathan Shapira, another passenger aboard the ship, told Haaretz that "we hope that the soldiers and officers of the Israeli navy will think twice before they obey orders to stop us." Shapira also reflected on recent Jewish history: "Let them remember the history of our people, and those who followed orders and later said we were only following orders.”

Elhanan and Shapira make a lot of sense, for they speak in the spirit of humanism and universalism.

However: when it comes to Jewish political activism, there is always one ‘righteous person’ who insists on providing a glimpse into what is still a deeply Judeo-centric agenda.

Richard Kuper, an organizer with the U.K. group, ‘Jews for Justice for Palestinians’, said “one goal is to show that not all Jews support Israeli policies toward Palestinians.”

Well done Richard. Let me get it right : amongst the Jewish population of 18 million people, worldwide -- all you have managed to apparently represent, speak for and collate, is 9 humanist souls who are not happy with Israeli policies.

Gilad Atzmon: On Gaza and Chutzpah

September 23, 2010 by Gilad Atzmon in Analysis, Israel, Jewish Power, Jewishness, UN, Zionism

The UN probe into the Israeli massacre in high seas concluded yesterday that Israeli forces violated international law and showed ‘incredible violence’ when they raided a flotilla attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. The UN fact finding mission also argues that Israel's naval blockade of the Palestinian territory was unlawful because of the humanitarian crisis there, and described the military raid on the flotilla as ‘brutal and disproportionate.’

According to the UN probe, there is "clear evidence to support prosecutions" against Israel for "willfull killing" and “torture”.

One would expect that after a publication of such a harsh report, Israel would self reflect, repent and vow to change its attitude toward international law and humanism in general.

Do not hold your breath, this is not going to happen.

Israel Will Be Palestine by Gilad Atzmon

September 23, 2010 by Gilad Atzmon in Analysis, Ideology, Israel, Zionism, identity

A meeting between Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Israeli deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon ended abruptly yesterday. The dispute followed the Israeli deputy foreign minister’s demand that the meeting’s summary should refer to the notion of ‘two states for two peoples,’ rather than just ‘two states.’

"I wanted that at the very least it will note two states for two peoples. I demanded to know what they meant. One Palestinian state and one bi-national state, or another Palestinian state?" the deputy minister told Ynet. "I made it clear that we were out of the picture if the summary didn’t say two states for two peoples."

The Palestinian PM could not accept such a demand for very many reasons: Israel is located on historic Palestine. It came to life through robbery and ethnic cleansing. It is maintained by theft. At least a fifth of Israel’s population are Palestinians. And if this is not enough, not a single living Palestinian negotiator is ever going to let the refugee issue go, and for a good reason. The right of return is still the crux of the Palestinian cause.

Gilad Atzmon: Apropos ‘Peace Talks’

September 08, 2010 by Gilad Atzmon in Analysis, Israel, Jewish Power, Jewishness, Zionism, identity

Needless to mention, I don’t hold my breath for the outcome of the current ‘peace talks’. As I mentioned many times before, Israelis are not interested in peace as they fail to grasp what peace is all about or what it stands for. Shalom, the Hebrew word for peace, is interpreted by Israelis and most Jews as ‘security for the Jews’. Shalom therefore has nothing to do with reconciliation or living amongst others. Shalom is a judeo-centric concept, it conveys an image of hope to one people only. The Israeli Palestinian conflict can never be resolved by a ‘shalom initiative’. Shalom is there to split the land and separate the people. It is there to deny the Palestinians of their elementary rights such as the Right of Return.

But let us assume for a second that I am completely wrong in my reading of the Israelis and their cultural and political understandings. Let’s for that purpose look into an imaginary scenario in which an Israeli PM wakes up one sunny morning with the unusual determination to bring about true peace. In the wee small hours, wisdom embraces him or her. He or she realises that Israel is in fact Palestine: it is stretched over historic Palestine at the expense of the Palestinian people, their livelihood and their history. He or she grasps that the Palestinians are the indigenous people of the land, and the rockets they shoot from time to time are nothing but love letters to their stolen villages, orchards, vineyards and fields.

Gilad Atzmon: The Lowest of the Low

September 02, 2010 by Gilad Atzmon in Analysis, Ideology, Israel, Jewish Power, Jewishness, Zionism, identity

Millions of ballot papers have been sent out yesterday to those eligible to vote in the Labour leadership election. Symbolically enough, this happened the day Tony Blair, the British PM who launched the criminal war in Iraq, published his controversial memoirs.

I am not holding my breath for the Labour party to make the right decision. Clearly, the same party failed to curtail Blair’s militant enthusiasm, even when it was plainly clear that the argument for the Iraq war was grounded in a dodgy dossier.

Considering the scale of the atrocities we are all complicit in thanks to the Labour government, it is my duty to remind the Labour party members who their leading candidate is, what he stands for and what interests he may serve.

Gilad Atzmon: United Against Knowledge

August 20, 2010 by Gilad Atzmon in Analysis, Israel, Jewish Power, Jewishness, Zionism, identity

The Guardian reported today that two Israeli groups have set up training courses in subversive Wikipedia editing aiming to 'show the other side' of the Jewish State.

Those who lend their pen to the Palestinian cause know about Wikipedia Jews, a term that was coined a few years ago. It refers to a bunch of rabid and crypto Zionists who constantly vandalise encyclopaedia entries to do with Palestine, Palestinian activists and Israeli atrocities.

Gilad Atzmon: United Against Paintings

August 17, 2010 by Gilad Atzmon in Analysis, Israel, Jewish Power, Jewishness, Zionism

Some British Jews are desperate to stop the truth about the Jewish state being spread around. The Jewish Chronicle reported today that Jewish “Community leaders are battling to stop an exhibition of paintings by children from Gaza being shown in schools in the North of England.”

Jewish campaigners say they have “no objection to the paintings, but have reacted with anger at a series of talks given to accompany them.”

The man behind the exhibition and the talks is Rod Cox, 62, who visited Gaza and the West Bank a few times in recent years. The exhibition, Loss Of Innocence, has been on tour since September, visiting universities, town halls and, most recently, Manchester Cathedral. It was taken to a Quaker venue in Marple, Stockport, on Monday evening and plans are under way to take it to schools in the north west.

Gilad Atzmon: The Jewish Division

August 15, 2010 by Gilad Atzmon in Analysis, Ideology, Israel, Jewish Power, Jewishness, Zionism, identity

I guess it shouldn’t take us by surprise that the Israeli flag has become a common feature at the ultra nationalist English Defence League's (EDL) demonstrations and gatherings.

The EDL calls for taking action against the "Islamization of Britain" and “Muslim fundamentalists”. It is a magnet for extremist right-wing activists and is driven by xenophobia and ethno centrism. Recently the organisation gained an ‘important’ addition to its coalition of hatred. It is called the "The EDL Jewish division." According to the Jewish Chronicle “hundreds of (Jewish) followers” joined immediately. Supporters include an ex-Community Security Trust volunteer who claims "a lot of Jewish guys want to get stuck in". Another follower wrote on Facebook "we are all Shayetet 13", the barbarian Israeli Navy commando unit that was directly responsible for the massacre and executions on the Mavi Marmara. It is also notable that this Jewish bloodthirsty ‘patriot’ didn’t say ‘we are all SAS, British Navy or RAF’. He for some reason preferred to affiliate himself with a foreign Navy, a Navy unit that fights Jewish wars rather than so-called British ones.

I guess that the English Defence League's leaders are not aware of the fact that their ‘Jewish Division’ is there to exploit the new organization.

Roberta Moore, a prominent persona within the Jewish Division admitted this week to the Israeli Haaretz that it is “actually the Jewish Division that exploits the EDL.”*

Gilad Atzmon: A Glimpse into Israeli Paranoia

August 11, 2010 by Gilad Atzmon in Analysis, Israel, Palestine, Zionism

Watch this amusing new Hasbara video. It seems as if the Israelis start to acknowledge that the days of their ‘Jews only state’ are numbered. They clearly gather that they are about to be forced out of the West Bank. In this short propaganda film Israel seems to acknowledge that it will be squeezed into the 1949 armistice lines.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytWmPqY8TE0

Gilad Atzmon: Bravery and Morality in Israel

August 11, 2010 by Gilad Atzmon in Analysis, Cultural Criticism, Ideology, Israel, Jewish Power, Jewishness, Zionism, identity

Update on the flotilla enquiry developments

Israel's Defense Force's Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi testified today before the Israeli internal probe into Israel's deadly raid on the Gaza-bound aid flotilla. He defended the military from politicians' accusations that it botched the operation.

"The commandos exhibited calm, bravery and morality… Their actions were proportionate and correct", Ashkenazi told the inquiry.

Let’s, once again, watch the video of Israeli soldiers executing a peace activist on the Mavi Marmara so we know what the words "bravery, morality, proportionate and correct" stand for in the Jewish State's lexicon.

Gilad Atzmon: Press TV Under Attack

August 03, 2010 by Gilad Atzmon in Analysis, Ideology, Israel, Jewish Power, Jewishness, Lauren Booth, Zionism

Britain Cannot Handle the Truth

To tell the truth about Israeli barbarism is a breach of impartiality. The Guardian and the Jewish Chronicle reported today that, Ofcom, the UK broadcasting standards body, has ruled that Iranian-backed Press TV’s coverage of the Gaza flotilla incident breached guidelines on impartiality.

You ask yourself why?

Their coverage of the Flotilla wasn’t pro-Israeli enough.

The regulator said the station had not shown due impartiality during a broadcast on June 5th which dealt exclusively with the events surrounding the interception by Israeli commandos of the pro-Palestinian convoy off the coast of Gaza.

The Jewish Chronicle reports that During an episode of a current affairs show Remembering Palestine, presenter Lauren Booth discussed the flotilla with studio guests and participants of the convoy. Ofcom said the show had started with “a pro-Palestinian song set to anti-Israeli/pro-Palestinian imagery”.

Ofcom is absolutely right, Booth should have thought about it, and played Hava Nagila along with the images of Israel executing 9 peace activists in International waters. Such an act would bring to light the cheerful aspect in Israeli murderous zeal. It would also cement the cultural continuum between the IDF’s crimes and Jewish cultural heritage.

Gilad Atzmon: Israel Cannot Handle Its Past

July 31, 2010 by Gilad Atzmon in Analysis, Cultural Criticism, Israel, Jewish Power, Jewishness, Palestine, Zionism, identity

Israel cannot handle its past. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu decided this week to extend from 50 to 70 years the time state archives remain classified. Israel realizes that it has too much to hide.

Haaretz reported this week (in its Hebrew edition only), that the first documents will be released to the public only in 2018 (1948+70). Many of the documents that are stored in the archive are relevant to the history of the first 20 years of the Jewish state: the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people, the massacres in Deir Yassin, Tantura and many others, the 1956 Suez conflict, the Israeli nuclear project and so on. Disclosing such documents may bring to light some facts that could “shatter myths and cause embarrassment to many entities and individuals” said the Israeli paper. I guess that president Shimon Peres is one of those ‘many individuals’.

Israel Braces Itself for a UN Fact Finding Mission by Gilad Atzmon

July 24, 2010 by Gilad Atzmon in Analysis, Cultural Criticism, Ideology, Israel, Zionism, identity

Israel faces another disastrous report as an 'Independent and impartial' fact-finding team appointed by the UN Human Rights Council will look into Israel's 'violations of international law' during her commando raid on the Gaza-bound Turkish ship.

Seemingly the UN Human Rights Council wasn’t overwhelmingly impressed by Israel's own ‘truth finding’ missions. I guess that this is understandable. The Israelis should accept the UN concerns. It is very uncommon to let the murderer or the rapist investigate himself.

The UN team is expected to travel to Israel, Turkey and Gaza in August to interview witnesses and gather information before reporting back to the Council in September.

I guess that in order to complete its job satisfyingly, the UN mission should consider taking advice from some Old Testament experts who can elaborate on the cultural and spiritual heritage that led to the current state of Israeli barbarism. As I've mentioned many times before, Zionism , is an attempt to revive the ancient Israelite nation. Hence it shouldn’t take us by surprise to discover that this has created a contemporary Israeli who follows the most sinister possible interpretation of the Judaic text.

On The Israeli Right's New 'Peace' Agenda by Gilad Atzmon

July 20, 2010 by Gilad Atzmon in Analysis, Israel, Jewish Power, Jewishness, Zionism

As the Israelis are becoming conscious of their inevitable tragic circumstances, a final desperate attempt to rescue the Zionist project has come to life. Astonishingly enough it is the Israeli right that is now pushing for ‘one binational State.’ It is pretty staggering to find out that while the Israeli so-called ‘left’ is locked within the 1967 territorial paradigm that is fueled by Judeo centric racial ideology, it is actually the hawkish Zionist thinkers who are willing to move the discourse forward.

In a mind provoking piece Noam Sheizaf outlines in Haaretz the new revolutionary Israeli idea. However, I will maintain at this stage that the new Zionist call for ‘one binational state’ suggests that Zionist ideology is on its last leg. Israel has come to realise its inevitable end. And amidst its terminal conditions Israel tries to buy time.

Gilad Atzmon: British Jews Support Israeli War Crimes

July 15, 2010 by Gilad Atzmon in Analysis, Israel, Jewishness, Zionism, identity

The Jewish community in Britain seems to be over the moon. A survey that was published a few days ago suggests that British Jews are nothing but ‘peace lovers’. The Guardian was also quick to report that 77% of “British Jews favour a 'two-state solution' in Israel”.

In practice, this actually means that at least 77% of British Jews believe that millions of dispossessed Palestinians should continue to dwell in refugee camps and never be allowed to their homes, cities, and villages. I am actually far from impressed with British Jewry’s inclination towards peace.