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.
"Atzmon addresses in The Wandering Who? important issues that deserve careful consideration by everyone—Jews, Palestinians and others—who are concerned with the interrelated topics of Zionism, the Jewish state, Palestinian oppression and Jews." Professor Norton Mezvinsky ( Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, May 2012)
The Wandering Who? A Study Of Jewish Identity Politics
The book can be ordered on Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk
By Gilad Atzmon
The United States must resolve that ‘never again’ is not just an ‘empty slogan’, said U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday, in a statement marking Holocaust Remembrance Day. Yet, I am left bewildered, what does president Obama refers to? Is ‘never again’ a universal message pointing at genocides in general or did he refer to Jewish suffering only? With 1,455,590 dead Iraqis due to an Anglo American criminal war, it seems as if the USA is actually complicit in an actual genocide.
Obama's comments followed Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s Holocaust Memorial Day address at Yad Vashem where he stated that Israel's "enemies tried to bury the Jewish future but our future was born again in the land of our forefathers, here we built a base, and a new beginning of freedom, and hope and action.”
Netanyahu, as usual, was almost correct. The ‘Jewish future’ was indeed born again after the holocaust just to introduce total misery, racism, expansionism, oppression, death and carnage to the entire Middle East. The so-called ‘Jewish State’ has managed, in just a few decades, to locate itself as the primary threat to world peace. With the Jewish State and its lobbies pushing for a war against Iran, there is little room for doubt- Israel is driven by a suicidal inclination in the spirit of Biblical Samson. Yet, being a nuclear super power, Israel’s potential self-inflicted tragedy may as well put an end to the world, as we know it.
11/4/12 Meria interviews Gilad Atzmon on his excellent book “The Wandering Who? A Study of Jewish Identity Politics”. What’s in a name? Israel is a state, Palestine is the land; anti-semitism; few Jews can claim origin in Palestine; initial Zionist plan; Nationalism created unpaid armies; disarm Israel; the Jewish state; the “chosen” ones; exceptionalism in USA and Israel; losing the American dream; what is a zionist? anti-semitism feeds the Israeli project; Jewish anti-zionism; Iran- PRE traumatic stress; Israel the only aggressor; who controls world politics ? AIPAC pushing for war; Jewish religion follows the Talmud not the Bible; Jewish secularization; US & Israel – Old Testament driven; what was the biggest victim of WW2? NWO and the Zionist agenda; new Nazi’s? American politics cheaper than tanks; Americans fighting Israel’s wars; complicity of citizens; the Protocols of Zion; and lots more.
Lyrics below:
The Division Game!?
Eh, I'm ok, thank you
No, no, seriously, I'm looking for a nicer game for me
But sank you, sank you
OH, you want to divide Islam into Sunni & Shiite and more, and you want me
To choose one and not the other?! No, I'm ok, sank you, I'd rather not divide
The book in half, I want to learn from everybody how to love better..
And by the way, when you split one brother against another..
Well, lets just say your own divide and conquer has never been so easy...
So you want to say to yourself, in a loud voice, you're chosen and the rest not?!
And God promised you a land and homelessness is ok for me?!
I bet you all the way from here that there's a more compassionate
Version of God in your hands,
And I bet you my eyes & ears this God would love to be Your chosen one.
And by the way, your God is sayig out loud you're the chosen one?!
Tell me, who's going to play with you and love you as you are as an equal
When that happens?!
The 'Jews Only Democracy' more likely...
The following is a form to be filled out upon arrival in Israel
And the next question to be asked is why? Why do they fake hate crimes against themselves? Do they like being chased?
A talk about Günter Grass, art of resistance, Israel, the Lobby, Iran, antisemitism, Pre-TSD, aesthetics and the prospect of peace.
Gilad Atzmon on Günter Grass @ Wenlock Poetry Festival from Gilad Atzmon on Vimeo.
To listen to Grass' poem click here:
In recent years we have learned about a few sporadic Rabbis who promote peace, justice and humanism. But more often it seems, Israel’s prominent Rabbis are more openly enthusiastic about violence, brutality and abuse.
Ynet reports today that Israel leading rabbis rally to the aid of Lieutenant-Colonel Eisner, an IDF hooligan officer who attacked Danish peace activist yesterday.
Watch Israeli Lieutenant-Colonel Eisner assault: http://youtu.be/uL-GmYBNDqY
Several prominent rabbis expressed their support for the religious Lieutenant-Colonel who was caught on camera brutally attacking a peace activist with his rifle. The Rabbis insist that the military’s decision to suspend the Lieutenant-Colonel was impetuous.
Lieutenant-Colonel Eisner expressed remorse over his action, saying that while he should not have flung his weapon at the activist, the video footage released depicted only “60 seconds out of a two-hour event.” This is indeed a winning Talmudic spin. Rather than dealing with factuality and truth of the matter, we are asked to engage with the ‘unknown’, the ‘missing footage’ so to say.
1600 Palestinian political prisoners, held by Israel, declared they will be starting an open-ended hunger strike on April 17th in protest to their illegal detention, and demanding basic rights.
Palestinian Minister of Detainees in the West Bank, Issa Qaraqe’, stated that the situation of the detainees in Israeli prisons is very difficult, and dangerous, especially amidst the ongoing Israeli violations and attacks against them.
Qaraqe’ added that the detainees are fighting a battle to defend their dignity and to improve their living conditions.
He further called for massive solidarity campaigns, and called for declaring April 17, the Palestinian Prisoners Day, as a day for solidarity and massive nonviolent protests in all parts of the occupied territories.
The Maan News Agency reported that a committee formed by the Israeli Prison Authority, headed by Yitzhak Gabai, visited a number of detention facilities, listened to the demands of the detainees, and “promised” respond to these demands this coming week.
Some of the demands presented by the detainees are;
1. Ending Administrative Detention.
2. Ending Solitary Confinement.
3. Reinstating the right to education.
4. Halting all invasions targeting detainees’ rooms and sections.
5. Allowing family visitations, especially to detainees from the Gaza Strip.
6. Improving medical care to ailing detainees.
7. Halting the humiliation, and body-search of the families of the detainees.
8. Allowing the entry of books and newspapers.
9. Halting all sorts of penalties against the detainees.
The following was copied from youtube:
"Kosher Face" is Sheer's send-up of Lady Gaga's "Poker Face"... a tribute to the members of the tribe of Abraham... a tongue-in-cheek exploration of the Jewish experience, populated by a host of Jewish celebrities of today... and the past. Shalom.
The Brighton-based ‘Wandering Who? Reading Group’ met for the third time on Wednesday 11th April, this time in a tower block with a fantastic, if dizzying, view over Brighton & Hove. We were considering Chapters 4 and 5 of Gilad Atmon’s book, ‘The Sabra, the Settler and the Disapora Jew’, and ‘Fagin vs. Einstein’ respectively.
Atzmon makes an interesting distinction between the Sabra, a native born Israeli whose ideal is to be tough outside and tender inside, and the Settler, who dispenses with any idea of compassion. The Sabra ‘can ethnically cleanse the entire Palestinian nation on Friday and then attend a “Peace Now” demonstration in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening.’ In this he is the negation of the soft Diaspora Jew. While he resembles a German soldier in certain respects, ‘he is loose, he likes to walk in Biblical sandals …’ Atzmon objects that this constructed identity is fundamentally inauthentic, while that of the Settler, however much we may dislike it, is authentic. The West-Bank settler, who arose after the 1967, ‘doesn’t shoot and sob; he is driven by conviction.’ Whereas the Sabra negated the Diaspora Jew, the Settler negates the Goy.
It is pretty interesting for me to follow the manner in which my writing is utilized
http://beingmusical.blogspot.co.uk
Jazz East to West
A gig by Gilad Atzmon one of Britains most adventurous saxophonists is always unpredictable. “We haven’t a clue what we’re playing tonight” he announced before delivering one of his jazziest gigs to date. Injecting his unpredictable performance with jokes and politically charged comments, the Israeli-born Atzmon sharpened our musical instincts, as well as our minds. His blend of experimental bop and world rhythms created a freewheeling jazz context for the band to improvise in. The sonic landscape, broadened by the presence of guest player Alekos K. Vretos, joined the foursome in covers like the famous Misirlou. This characteristic Greek tune, used in the opening credits of Pulp Fiction, helped connect tradition with the avant garde. Whether playing the sax, the clarinet, or just scat singing, Atzmons delivery is chilling. By the end of this “festival of multi-talentless people from all over the world”, nothing was more apparent than his versatility, charisma and unifying music powers.
Review and photography by Danai Molocha for Live At Your Local www.liveatyourlocal.co.uk
Wenlock Poetry Festival
Saturday 14th April 1.00 p.m. The Edge Arts Centre free
On 4th April, eminent German writer and Nobel laureate, Günter Grass published a poem in the German newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung. The poem is called What Must Be Said, and deals with Israel's nuclear programme and the threat it poses to world security. Grass's stimulus to write the poem was Germany's recent sale to Israel of submarines that carry nuclear weapons. The poem has sparked a huge amount of media and political attention, and the Israeli government has banned Grass from entering Israel.
This weekend, musician and writer Gilad Atzmon is appearing at the Wenlock Poetry Festival to perform, and to present a composition workshop. In the light of the ongoing storm of debate around Grass's poem, he has been invited to lead a discussion on the role of the artist in contemporary political debate. Atzmon has written widely on Jewish identity politics and has first-hand experience of public reaction to critical opinion about Israel.
What must be said
Why have I been silent, silent for so long?,
Our generals have gamed it out,
Confident the west will survive.
We people have not even been considered.
What is this right to "preventive war"?
A war that could erase the Iranian people.
Dominated by it's neighbor, pulsing with righteousness
Smug in the fact that it is they, not Iran,
Who have the Bomb.
Why have I so far avoided to identify Israel by it's name?,
Israel and it's ever increasing nuclear arsenal,
Beyond reproach, Uncontrolled, uninspected.
We all know these things
Yet we all remain silent, fearful of being labeled:
anti-Semitic
hateful
worse
Considering Germany's past these labels stick
So we call is "business", "reparation" take your pick,
As we deliver yet another submarine.
As we provide to Israel the means to deliver annihilation.
I say what must be said.
Why did I stay silent until now?
Because I'm German, of course.
I'm tainted by a stain I cannot wash out
I'm silent because I want so badly to make it right
To put my sins in the past and leave them silently there.
Why did I wait to say it until now?
And write these words with the last of my ink?
Declaring that Israel threatens world peace?
Because it is true and it must be said,
Tomorrow will be too late.
We Germans now carry a new burden of sin on our shoulders
Through the weapons we have sold
We are helping to carry out this foreseeable tragedy
No excuse will remove our stain of complicity.
It must be said. I won't be silent
I've had enough of the hypocrisy;
Please shed the silence with me,
The consequences are all too predictable.
It's time to demand free and permanent control
of BOTH Israel's nuclear arsenal
AND Iran's nuclear facilities
enforced with international supervision.
It's the only way, in a land convulsed with insanity,
Israelis, Palestinians, everybody, will survive.
And we too, will survive.
The German writer Gunter Grass (The Tin Drum) had already predicted the response to his poem in SdZ. There is no reason to be surprised, but there is every reason to be disgusted. Within Germany both the elite and a layer of the population by their words and actions appear to have accepted the disgraceful Goldhagen thesis whereby all German were guilty for the crimes of the Third Reich. This thesis has now been developed further: all Germans are guilty for eternity for the crimes of the Third Reich.
Behind this thinking is the Zionist and Zionophile argument that the crime against the Jews of Europe was unique in the annals of history. This was true as far as the method of extermination was concerned, but not in any other way. The Belgians massacred the Congolese in greater numbers: over 10 million according to the historian Adam Hochschild. The killing of Armenians during the First World War was systematic and we could go on and discuss the nuking of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but comparing one massacre or genocide to another is a futile exercise. Raul Hilberg the most authoritative historian of the Judeocide was angered by the uses that were being made of that crime today.
A very interesting exchange, we spoke about very many different aspect of my writing, philosophy, history, identity, Zionism, Iran, global war and more..
The Wandering Who? A Study Of Jewish Identity Politics
The book can be ordered on Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk
The brilliant people at Tlaxacla added French and Spanish subtitles to the Atzmon Vs. Abunimah video.
French
Spanish
