GOLIATH; Life and Loathing in Greater Israel

Book Review By Eugene Schulman

As most of you know, I have been following events in the Israel/Palestine conflict for years.  I have built up a library over those years of hundreds of books, both pro and con on the issues.  This is the first one I have read that has turned my stomach.  Not because it is untruthful or poorly written, rather, whether you believe the author or not, the tale he describes is one of unrelenting cruelty.  Have a gander at the Amazon link below for a description of what I would say is the most important book on contemporary Israel I have read.  Don't forget to read the customer reviews.

Of all the reviews I had read prior to reading the book: Chris Hedges at Truthdig; Larry Gross, also at Truthdig; Tablet, a magazine of Jewish writing, which laughably calls it a novel, the best one is Gilad Atzmon at Common Dreams who, after praising the book, asks the most important question of all - WHY is Israel the way it is?  Of course, anyone who has read his "Wandering Who?" will know the answer.  It is a Jewish identity crisis.

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Amina Figarova & Gilad Atzmon in London

A special opportunity to listen to legendary New York based pianist Amina Figarova, originally from Azerbaijan and London based virtuoso saxophonist Gilad Atzmon. These two masters will be playing together in the USA in 2014 but you can listen to their incredible duo next week in London at the 606 Jazz Club on 3^rd December  8:00 PM and also in a house concert in Mill Hill, NW London (contact info@pinemail.co.uk) on 4^th December.

On Figarova:

"...With this rewarding date, Amina Figarova makes her case as an important composer of her generation..."  www.allmusic.com

"... Figarova is among the most important composers to come into jazz in the new millennium..."
Thomas Conrad, Jazztimes

"... She is a major artist..." London Evening Standard

On Atzmon:

“A formidable improvisational array...a jazz giant steadily drawing himself up to his full height.” The Guardian.

 “The best musician living in the world today” Robert Wyatt, The Guardian

“One of the most charismatic and focused reedsmen on the planet.” Chris Parker LondonJazz

Alan Hart: Are we stupid?

The following is the text of the address I made to the Seek, Speak and Spread Truth Conference in London yesterday, 23 November.  Its main thrust is about the need for citizens to become politically engaged to make democracy work (before it’s as dead as the two-state solution for Israel-Palestine) in order for our children and grandchildren to have the real prospect of a future worth having.

I want to start with a promise. I won’t be disturbed and you won’t be disturbed by my mobile ‘phone because I don’t have one. I have thrown mine away because I am trying to stay human.

That said I’ll give you my one-sentence overview of the state of affairs on our small, fragile, endangered planet. Modern life is a de-humanizing process which has reduced us, most of us, to units of consumption, digits in corporate computers, figures on accountants’ balance sheets.

What this suggests to me is that the prime task for each and every one of us is to claim back our humanity. I’ll be offering some thoughts on how we can do this, but first of all we have to address what I consider to be THE most important of all questions - the question of human nature.

What, really, is the quality of it?

There are, broadly speaking, two views.

One, the pessimistic view, which is more or less an article of faith for most politicians and mainstream media people and many corporate executives, bankers especially, is that we human beings are inherently and unchangeably short-sighted, selfish and greedy, preferring to live for today at the expense of tomorrow and are, on balance, more “bad” than “good”. In other words, we are really quite stupid. And that, our so-called leaders tell themselves, is why they can’t tell us the truth about real choices and options for the future.

If the pessimistic view is the correct one, it seems to me that nothing matters because the end, catastrophe for all, was inevitable from the beginning; in which case we would all be well advised, as individuals, as communities and as nations, to go on screwing each other for all we can get. Praising the lord and passing the ammunition.

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Iranian Jews rally in support of nation's nuclear program

Haartetz reported last week that “hundreds of Iranians, including university students and members of the country's Jewish community, rallied Tuesday in support of the Islamic Republic's disputed nuclear program on the eve of the resumption of talks with world powers.” Unlike the so-called ‘progressive’  and ‘cosmopolitan’ Jews who, for some reason, occasionally support Zionist interventionist wars, Iranian Jews are actually patriotic and authentic.  

“Iranian state TV showed students gathered at the gate of Fordo enrichment facility, carved into a mountain south of Tehran. They formed a human chain, chanted "Fordo is in our hearts" and denounced the West, which has put pressure on Iran to curb enrichment activity which can be a step toward weapons development.

In Tehran, meanwhile, several dozen people identifying themselves as Iranian Jews gathered outside a UN building. It was a rare public display by the community, which tends to keep a low profile despite being the largest in the region outside Israel and Turkey.”

Incredible!!!

The Landfill Harmonic Orchestra

Gilad Atzmon gets globetrotting at the Queen Elizabeth Hall – EFG London Jazz Festival 2013

http://www.jazzwisemagazine.com

Gilad Atzmon’s performances inspire a quirky and contradictory set of adjectives not usually applied to other jazz musicians: exuberant, belligerent, droll, generous, unapologetic, outrageous, exquisite, tragi-comic, edgy, folksy, caricatured, tumultuous… should I go on? It’s that edge-of-your-seat quality that I like so much; never quite knowing either in a solo, a setlist or his guest line-up, what’s going to happen next to deliberately disrupt the flow. Tonight’s show was no exception, beginning with a whistle-stop tour of a few favourite cities: ‘Paris’, ‘Tel Aviv’, and ‘Moscow’. Yaron Stavi (bass), Frank Harrison (keys) and Eddie Hick (drums) who make up the other three quarters of the Orient House Ensemble, know how to conjure up a sense of place that’s vibrant and dynamic. But the OHE were just the opening act in terms of what Gilad had up his sleeve. Having warmed up his instruments (accordion, clarinet, soprano, alto), wound up his audience with some nicely non-PC jokes, and chatted up the very fine Sigamos String Quartet, arranged and led by Ros Stephen, ‘the hippies’ – Jennifer Bennett (violin and viola de gamba) and Yair Avidor (theorbo) – joined him on stage for the deconstructed and expansive ‘Scarborough (Fair)’ and ‘Leipzig’, a rendition of a portion of Bach’s St Matthew passion. The set ended impeccably with a tour through sleazy, carnivalesque ‘Berlin’.

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Someday (Song for Palestine)

Sarah Salibi: Turn the Gaza Lights On

http://othersite.org/
Imagine that you have to spend your night in utter darkness, to arrange your plan for each day according to a power-cut plan, or to force yourself into bed as there is nothing you can do other than to sit in the dark. Picture yourself studying for your exams using a candle, or spending all day long waiting for the electricity to come back, or walking in streets at night that are only lit by cars' headlights. If you find it hard to imagine all of these things combined, just seek the help of a Palestinian from Gaza. No one could explain it better.

It has been a week since the government announced the new electricity schedule. Yet I still find it very difficult to adapt to. Previously, power used to be off for 8 hours a day. We accustomed ourselves to that schedule despite the fact that it took us a while to get used to it.

The electricity crisis seems to be moving from bad to worse. Never better.  Currently, we only get to see electricity for 6 hours a day. That means that power is off for 18 hours! When I heard the news about the new power-cut plan, I was stunned, my mind froze. I’m not sure how successful I will be at adapting myself to it. I got mad just wondering how I’ll get through the day. What should we do during the 18 hours of darkness? Or should the question be “How can we make the most of the 6 hours of electricity?” Should I Study? Use the Internet? Do the housework? Watch TV? Do the laundry? Ughhh! This is very confusing. Deciding what to do during the 6 hours with electricity is much harder than the 18-hour power-cut!  What a busy 6-hours it’ll have to be!

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Jewish Light Bulb Jokes

In the light of the darkness in Gaza, here is a collection of Jewish Light Bulb Jokes

Q: How many Orthodox Jews does it take to change a light bulb?
A: What is a light bulb?

Q: How many secular assimilated Jews does it take to change a light bulb?
A: My grandmother, who lived in a Shtetl changed lightbulbs. Today, we get a Goy to do it.

Q: How many Israelis does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: 26: 18 to surround the building,  6 to storm the room and kill the terrorists, one to forcibly expel the old bulb, and another one to screw the new one in and forever.  

Q: How many progressive Jews does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Vhy, we don’t need any! we’ll form Jewish Voices for Light Bulbs (JVLB) and use it to keep the rest of humanity forever in the dark.

Q: How many Reform Jews does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Change it? Who wants to change it? We just want to improve it!

Q: How many Lubabavitchers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None, it never died.

Q: How many Marxist Jews does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None, after the revolution the proletariat will do it for us.

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Israeli Ex-Chief Rabbi Arrested For White Collar Crimes

Rabbi Yona Metzger, former chief rabbi of Israel, was arrested on Monday morning on the suspicion of bribery, fraud, breach of trust, money laundering, obstruction of justice and witness tampering.

Metzger was also arrested five months ago. Israel Police said it suspects that the scope of the funds connected with the alleged crimes has reached the millions of shekels. later today, the police will request to extend Metzger's custody for an additional 10 days.

The previous Israeli president Moshe Katzav is locked behind bars for more than a while. He was indicted for rape and other sexual offenses. Seemingly, the Ex Chief Rabbi is destined to join him soon. The Jewish State, is, no doubt, an interesting  glimpse  into Jewish culture and ethics.