And now for a bit of Xmas fun. A devoted Atzmon fan, one Zarina Bhatia, decided to send to all and sundry, a eulogy to her hero. Below is my reply!
Yuletide greetings to all,
Tony Greenstein
Dear Ms Bhatia,
I have been forwarded your message below re Gilad Atzmon. I’m sure you will understand why I am replying, bearing in mind the polemical nature of your Christmas greeting.
I am one of those anti-Zionist Jews whom Atzmon describes as ‘gatekeepers’ or ‘fifth-columnists’ inside the Palestine solidarity movement. Unfortunately this is inevitable because if you are anti-Zionist then, according to Atzmon, you are a Zionist if, at the same time, you do so as a Jew!
Yes I know it sounds strange as it is normally the Zionists who argue that being Jewish and Zionist are one and the same thing. And hence anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism are also the same thing. But, I’m afraid, that is what Atzmon argues. In his essay ‘Not in my name’ he declares that:
Yes I know it sounds strange as it is normally the Zionists who argue that being Jewish and Zionist are one and the same thing. And hence anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism are also the same thing. But, I’m afraid, that is what Atzmon argues. In his essay ‘Not in my name’ he declares that:
‘by fighting Zionism in the name of their Jewish identity they approve Zionism…. To demand that Jews disapprove of Zionism in the name of their Jewish identity is to accept the Zionist philosophy. To resist Zionism as a secular Jew involves an acceptance of basic Zionist terminology, that is to say, a surrendering to Jewish racist and nationalist philosophy. To talk as a Jew is to surrender to Weizman’s Zionist philosophy.’
And in another
article he declares that:‘since acting politically under a Jewish banner is in fact the very definition of Zionism, it is reasonable to deduce that all Jewish left activity is in practice not more than a form of left Zionism.’
It is a strange argument that says if Jewish people stand up and say they oppose Zionism, they are actually Zionists!
There is nothing particularly profound about this. This argument runs through the heart of the World Zionist Organisation’s Jerusalem Program. Atzmon’s very revulsion from the acts of the Israeli state, leads him not to question the Zionist claim to represent all Jews but to an affirmation of a key, defining principle of Zionist ideology. His only response is therefore to declare himself as an ex-Jew.
Zionism of course was the reaction of certain Jews to anti-Semitism in the 19th Century. Indeed the origins of the Zionist movement are not even Jewish. It was the child of romantic imperialism. And in a double parody, Atzmon’s anti-Semitism is a reflection of Zionism. Atzmon is a fully-signed up member of those who believe in the Jewish conspiracy theory. From the present global financial crisis of capitalism to the scandals of the British government, the Jewish hand is lurking. As he himself says:
“we must begin to take the accusation that the Jewish people are trying to control the world very seriously…. …. American Jewry makes any debate on whether the ‘Protocols of the elder of Zion’ are an authentic document or rather a forgery irrelevant. American Jews do try to control the world, by proxy… I would suggest that perhaps we should face it once and for all: the Jews were responsible for the killing of Jesus who, by the way, was himself a Palestinian Jew.” ‘On Anti-Semitism’ (yes he’s changed the wording a bit now, but the meaning remains the same).
You say that Atzmon ‘exposes the facts about the much publicised holocaust!’ I wasn’t aware that Atzmon was any kind of Holocaust historian. Perhaps you could enlighten us as to which facts? Could it be Atzmon’s much publicised support for Holocaust deniers and his own advocacy of such a position?
His friend, Paul Eisen, British Director of the now-defunct Deir Yassin Remembered, has repeatedly endorsed the central claim of the holocaust deniers:
‘Regarding gas, again I am not sure but the evidence for the use of homicidal gas-chambers is not good at all. The evidence against it is much, much stronger.’
‘Regarding gas, again I am not sure but the evidence for the use of homicidal gas-chambers is not good at all. The evidence against it is much, much stronger.’
Yet in an e-mail that Atzmon sent me on 23rd June 2005, Atzmon wrote:
‘how dare you classify innocent and honest people as H deniers. Can’t you see that this is a crime. Mr Eisen whom you despise his learning the H for 3 years, he is an expert. I myself working on WW2 for over ten years.’
‘how dare you classify innocent and honest people as H deniers. Can’t you see that this is a crime. Mr Eisen whom you despise his learning the H for 3 years, he is an expert. I myself working on WW2 for over ten years.’
And there is no doubting that Eisen has become an ‘expert’ holocaust denier. Atzmon continues:
‘I do not have any doubt that our notion of the H will change radically in the near future. Too many discrepancies. and as I said, the only active scholarship is in the hands of the revisionists. The funny bit is that only left Jews are defending the Zio-Anglo-American’s H narrative. Ask yourself why. I think that it is simple. You are not religious, you killed god….’
So not only does he flirt with Holocaust denial, but he throws in a bit of Christ-killing too!
In fact it is very simple. When the Holocaust was taking place the Zionists were desperate not to mention it. It was a diversion from building their State. Until 1960 the Nazi holocaust was a taboo in Israel and holocaust survivors were treated with contempt. Today of course the Holocaust is a propaganda weapon that the Zionists cynically use, whilst at the same time stealing the reparations from Germany and other countries that were intended for the upkeep of those survivors. The ‘Jewish’ State is literally a parasite on the survivors of the Holocaust.
But your own message reveals its contradictions. On the one hand you doubt the Holocaust whilst at the same time comparing it with Israeli rule today. You cannot have it both ways.
In fact it is very simple. When the Holocaust was taking place the Zionists were desperate not to mention it. It was a diversion from building their State. Until 1960 the Nazi holocaust was a taboo in Israel and holocaust survivors were treated with contempt. Today of course the Holocaust is a propaganda weapon that the Zionists cynically use, whilst at the same time stealing the reparations from Germany and other countries that were intended for the upkeep of those survivors. The ‘Jewish’ State is literally a parasite on the survivors of the Holocaust.
But your own message reveals its contradictions. On the one hand you doubt the Holocaust whilst at the same time comparing it with Israeli rule today. You cannot have it both ways.
There are indeed many valid comparisons that can be made between Israeli behaviour today and the Nazi reign of terror, including the siege of Gaza, and the holocaust.
However you can either take the path of President Ahmedinajad of Iran who raised questions about whether the Holocaust had even occurred. But Ahmedinajad, the bloody ruler of Iran and the torturer of Iranian workers, did what many have done. He assumed that if Israel bases its legitimacy on the Holocaust then if it can be proved that the latter didn’t occur then, hey presto, Israel has no legitimacy! The only problem is that the Holocaust did occur and ironically, therefore, what he is unwittingly saying is that Israel is legitimate. It is a bankrupt and useless strategy.
You seem to have the ear of Gilad Atzmon and it is understandable if you are carried away in the euphoria of a concert hall. But to those of us trying to build a Boycott movement, the actions and antics of Atzmon are a hindrance not a help. As one of the movers of the Boycott motion at the 2007 and 2008 Annual Conferences of UNISON, Britain’s second largest trade union, support for Atzmon would been music to the ears of the Zionists.
But another irony, Atzmon is on record as opposing the Academic Boycott of Israel’s universities. In an interview he declared that:
‘interfering with academic freedom isn’t exactly something I can blindly advocate. Unlike some of my best enlightened friends, I am against any form of gatekeeping or book burning. But it goes further, I actually want to hear what Israelis and Zionists have to say.
Yes, that’s right. Supporters of an Academic Boycott are book-burners. One suspects the Board of Deputies of British Jews would agree with him on this. After all, when the Boycott campaign was at its height ‘deputies also gave vent to their anger – particularly at Jews who supported the move [for boycott]’ (Jewish Chronicle – 22.06.07).
Yes, that’s right. Supporters of an Academic Boycott are book-burners. One suspects the Board of Deputies of British Jews would agree with him on this. After all, when the Boycott campaign was at its height ‘deputies also gave vent to their anger – particularly at Jews who supported the move [for boycott]’ (Jewish Chronicle – 22.06.07).
You have every right, Ms Bhatia, to engage in hero worship. However I would advise you to choose your heroes more carefully next time.
In solidarity,
Tony Greenstein
>>Greetings to All!
I had the fortune of meeting Gilad Atzmon at one of his Concerts, in Birmingham and I am in total admiration of him for his genuine support and commmitment for the oppressed people of Palestine and against blockade and Ethnic Cleansing that is going on in Gaza, while the world keeps silent planning Seasons’ feasting!
Gilad has some enemies no doubt, who once were my ‘friends’ because he exposes the facts about the much publicised holocaust! In fact my spectrum of real friends believe that Zionist rule in Israel today is of ‘perpetrators’ in exactly what was history once, of the Jews under Nazi Germany.
One can surf the following web links to prove this point and explore the wealth of information Gilad sends me via this Christmas message. Gilad, I shall forward your message to scores of people. Keep up your gift as an acclaimed Jazz player that you are, making a difference!
Zarina Bhatia
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