Tlaxcala: Atzmon Vs. Abunimah in French & Spanish


The brilliant people at Tlaxacla added French and Spanish subtitles to the Atzmon Vs. Abunimah video.
French
Spanish
Atzmon writes on political matters, social issues, Jewish identity and culture. His papers are published on very many press outlets around the world. Here is just a short list of his recent publications: World News, Press Tv, Rebelion, The Daily Telegraph, Uprooted Palestinians, Veterans Today, Palestine Telegraph, Counterpunch, Dissident Voice, Aljazeera Magazine, Information Clearing House, Middle-East-Online, Palestine Chronicle, The People Voice, Redress, Shoa (The Palestinian Holocaust) , The Guardian, transcend and many more.
Jewish identity is tied up with some of the most difficult and contentious issues of today. The purpose in this book is to open many of these issues up for discussion. Since Israel defines itself openly as the ‘Jewish State’, we should ask what the notions of ’Judaism’, ‘Jewishness’, ‘Jewish culture’ and ‘Jewish ideology’ stand for. Gilad examines the tribal aspects embedded in Jewish secular discourse, both Zionist and anti Zionist; the ‘holocaust religion’; the meaning of ‘history’ and ‘time’ within the Jewish political discourse; the anti-Gentile ideologies entangled within different forms of secular Jewish political discourse and even within the Jewish left. He questions what it is that leads Diaspora Jews to identify themselves with Israel and affiliate with its politics. The devastating state of our world affairs raises an immediate demand for a conceptual shift in our intellectual and philosophical attitude towards politics, identity politics and history.
The book is available on Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk
Gilad Atzmon on HardTalk BBC Persia (english) from Gilad Atzmon on Vimeo.
The brilliant people at Tlaxacla added French and Spanish subtitles to the Atzmon Vs. Abunimah video.
French
Spanish
Israel National News published today a poem by Itamar Yaoz-Kest, a Holocaust survivor. The poem is presented as “letter-poem in reply to German Günter Grass’ attack.” The poem is a clear reminder of horrific danger that is embedded within Jewish identity politics and contemporary Jewish nationalism. It is a glimpse into unique psychotic genocidal sense of retribution.
The “letter-poem” starts as follows:
Danger,
I want to be a danger,
I want to be a danger to the world,
so that after my destruction, not a single blade of grass will remain on the face of the Earth,
or a single blade of grass for Gunther Grass’s pipe,
upon the Earth where, since I was born, I pose a danger to the world.
Because it is my right!
It is my right to live or die while annihilating my annihilators, without riding again as a crying-boy in a transport train,
Into the world-vacuum, while placing my head in the lap of a mother who is disappearing into the fresh air of the Land of Wotan,
and the urine tin darts dark-yellow specks onto the walls of the cabin – like gunshots that spray
a yellowish-reddish liquid from besides the train guards, and among them – maybe – the soldier G.G., also, wearing a steel helmet.
I am perplexed, is the above an American news item? Is the USA a sovereign country? Hasbara occupied zone more likely..
The book can be ordered on Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk
To read articles and reviews click here.
To read endorsement and watch a video click here
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.
"We want to make sure what is written there (in Wikipedia) is Zionist in nature..." Naftali Bennett, Yesha Council Director
"We came here to learn more about how we, as Israelis and as Jews, can defend Israel on line.." Miriam Schwab, Blogger
Truthfulness is clearly not a major concern as far as those ZioPedia editors are concerned.
The following is an old article of mine, it was written when the story broke out:
http://www.gilad.co.uk/writings/gilad-atzmon-united-against-knowledge.html
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.
Apparently Stephen Mejias of stereophile.com would die for WYATT/ATZMON/STEPHEN: For the Ghosts Within.
WYATT/ATZMON/STEPHEN: For the Ghosts Within
Domino DNO271 (LP). 2010. Gilad Atzmon, prod.; Robert Wyatt, Jamie Johnson, engs. ADD? TT: 56:13
From the very start, as it shudders and quakes with the sort of alarming string arrangement you might hear in the soundtrack to an old black-and-white romance, For the Ghosts Within announces itself as a heavy, bittersweet treat. This unapologetically melodramatic stuff is syrupy with Ros Stephen's soaring string arrangements, Gilad Atzmon's honeyed clarinet and alto sax, and Robert Wyatt's strange, ethereal voice, all quivering and aching like fall's golden leaves on thin tree branches. Listen, for instance, as Wyatt's voice rises with the violins and clarinet, holding on to his words ("you were there . . . for me . . . in the air . . .") as if they were the tail ends of dreams, until he no longer can and lets them fall ("long before the day that I was born"), as if each syllable were a step back down to earth. It's crazy. You can't help but smile even as the tears trickle down your trembling cheeks. XXXIV-3)
I have been working with Sarah Gillespie for the last five years. Sarah is an incredible singer songwriter, a very unique combination of poetic power coupled with natural compositional skills. Sarah doesn’t follow the book, she doesn’t fit into any recognized genre. Through collages of sounds, beat poetry and broken associations she manages to communicate yearning, pain, disillusion, joy and sometimes, hope.
I spoke to Sarah about her new project, The War On Trevor – a narrative piece of music depicting the plights of a luckless London lad whose life unravels in 1 day.
To watch ‘The War On Trevor’ film click here
——————————————————–
Gilad Atzmon: Why Trevor?
Sarah Gillespie: Obviously it is a pun on the slogan ‘The War on Terror’. A pun is a figure of language that depends on similarity of sound and disparity of meaning. It matches 2 sounds that fit perfectly together as aural shapes yet stand provocatively apart in sense. The name ‘Trevor’, like ‘Brian’ signals safe, middle of the road, normality. ‘The Life of Brian’ would not work as a concept if the protagonist was called ‘Tarquin’ or ‘Joshua’ for instance. The joke relies on the implausibility that anyone called ‘Brian’ could possibly be the Messiah. Like Brian, Trevor is totally devoid of glamour, exoticness, power or danger. Therefore, in the title alone, there is already sense that Trevor is probably a harmless, ordinary plonker. He is the innocent twin of ‘Terror.’
Gilad Atzmon: Does our imaginary Trevor posses the capacity to dwell on The War on Trevor?
Sarah Gillespie: Initially no, because he assumes it has absolutely nothing to do with him. He just wants to go to work in the morning, get paid and live a normal life. That’s exactly what he is doing in the beginning when he gets caught up in anti Capitalist riots and needs to pee. He just wants to be in the world, but the environment around him conspires to make it impossible. Three cataclysmic events happen: he is arrested, he is dumped and he is misidentified as a terrorist. This trauma induces an awakening, a metamorphosis, which is played out in the final song ‘The Banks of the Arghandab.’ (The Arghandab is the main river running through the Helmand Province in Afghanistan).
An Interview with Gilad Atzmon
La Parabole d'Esther : Anatomie du Peuple Élu to buy on Amazon.fr click here
In his book Gilad is critical of Jewish identity politics. He is also highly critical of Jewish political domination within the Left and the Palestinian solidarity movement in particular. Collected by Silvia Cattori, Gilad’s answers expose the vacuous arguments employed by those who are determined to silence him by way of deception, intimidation and slander.
Silvia Cattori: Your book has just been published in French [1]. Without any promotion it is selling like hotcakes; despite the fact that members of U.J.F.P. (French Jewish Union for Peace) and I.J.A.N. (International Jewish Antizionist Network) launched a campaign to demonize you within the left and the Palestinian solidarity movement, six months before the French publication [2]. Did all theses attacks come as a surprise for you?
Gilad Atzmon: As you probably know I have been subject to these vile Jewish anti-Zionist campaigns for years. It is clear beyond doubt that I have managed to rock the boat. As it happens, I oppose any form of Jewish identity politics for being exclusive and racially oriented. Sadly enough, Like Zionists, many of the Jewish anti Zionist political cells are openly engaged in similar tribal, racially driven and exclusivist politics.
But there is also an ideological issue here. I openly contend that their entire terminology is misleading. Zionism is not colonialism, Israel is not Apartheid and the Israelis are not Zionists. Zionism is not colonialism for the Jewish ‘Settler State’ lacks a Jewish ‘Mother State’. Israel is not Apartheid for the Jewish State doesn’t want to exploit the Palestinians but to get rid of them. Israel is actually driven by Lebensraum (Living Space) philosophy. In other words, the Jewish State adopted the Nazi racist, expansionist ideology. But the Jews in our movement do not like the comparison with Nazi Germany. And also Israel is not exactly Zionism and the Israelis are not necessarily Zionists. Israel is the product of the Zionist ideology and the Israeli is basically a post revolutionary product. Hence, the Zionist/anti Zionist debate has very little significance in Israel or on Israeli politics.
In short, our entire terminology is misleading if not deceitful. I guess that I expose it all, and it is only natural that some people would prefer to kill the messenger.
By Gilad Atzmon
Ynet reported today that the “White House announced on Monday that the US administration has rejected President Shimon Peres' request to grant convicted spy Jonathan Pollard clemency.”
Jonathan Jay Pollard worked as a civilian intelligence analyst before being convicted of spying for Israel . He received a life sentence in 1987.
However, the Obama Administration declared today that it "has no intention to release Pollard."
We also learned recently that master swindler Bernie Madoff and Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard are prison pals.
I guess that the two will be able to continue enjoy each other company in the near future.
“Gilad’s book constitutes an excellent critique of Identity Politics in general and Jewish Identity Politics in particular from a humanistic perspective. These hysterical attacks upon Gilad only reveal the weaknesses, insecurities, double-standards and hidden agendas of those who attack him. Gilad’s humanism and plea for humanism shine through every page of this book—obviously influenced by his Jazz. A Love Supreme!” Professor Francis A. Boyle
"Atzmon’s essential contribution to solidarity with Palestine is to help non-Jews realize that they are not always in the wrong when conflicts with Jewish organizations arise." Jean Bricmont
can be ordered on Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk
To read articles and reviews click here.
To read endorsement and watch a video click here
The following is Jean Bricmont's intordiction for the Frecnch edition of The Wandering Who (La Parabole d'Esther). It was published in English a few days ago by Counterpunch print edition.
The French edition is available here
Pro-Palestinian friends had repeatedly warned me: Gilad Atzmon is anti-Semitic, he is bad for the Palestinian cause, he may even work for Israel. I must have a contrarian turn of mind, because that kind of talk never stopped me from regularly reading his blog (quite the opposite) with a mixture of fascination and amusement. It struck me that an Israeli Jew living in the U.K., a voluntary exile, who is accused of anti-Semitism, among others by pro-Palestinian Jews and Palestinian militants, and whose conferences draw protesting demonstrations from “anti-racist” organizations, was at the very least an interesting curiosity. Moreover, having myself “escaped” from the religion in which I was forced to grow up (Catholicism), I have an instinctive sympathy for all those who break, often brutally, with the myths and constraints of their childhood. Atzmon’s themes, the politics of identity and memory, are at the very heart of our contemporary social debates. It ought to be possible to listen to a truly politically incorrect viewpoint on these issues, that of someone who defines himself as a “proud self-hating Jew.”
But coming from a non-Jew like me, isn’t there something suspect, or downright unhealthy, in such an interest? When Atzmon’s editor asked me to write the preface to the French edition of The Wandering Who?, I told myself that this would be an opportunity to answer that question and, above all, to explain why Atzmon should be heard and discussed.
It is ever so easy to “demonstrate” the alleged anti-Semitism of Atzmon. Frequently, including at the very start of his book, Atzmon makes a distinction between three meanings of the word “Jewish.” It can apply to persons who adhere to the Jewish religion, with whom he has no quarrel; to people of Jewish origin, with whom he has also no problem; and, finally, to what he calls the third category, that is, those who, without being particularly religious, constantly stress their Jewish “identity” and set it before and above their simple membership in the human race. It suffices thereupon to interpret in the first sense (people of Jewish origin) the word “Jewish” when Atzmon uses it in the third sense, in a style that is often extremely polemical, to “prove” that he is anti-Semitic.