Thank God for the Jewish Chronicle!

Gilad Atzmon

As always, the London Jewish Chronicle (JC) is providing us with an accurate insight into Jewish influence within the media and beyond. The JC is desperate to stop my book, The Wandering Who? -- and it is also foolish enough to disclose its tactics, openly revealing to us the pressure which some elements within the Jewish community are willing to mount on Britain’s leading newspapers and other outlets.

This weekend The JC seems to be particularly frustrated, explaining to their concerned readers that “Britain's largest book distribution database company has said it cannot withdraw The Wandering Who unless the title is found to have breached race hate legislation”

And yet, it seems that no one in the Jewish Chronicle has read the book, or any of my writing -- otherwise it is hard to explain why the JC keep labeling me as an ‘anti-Semite’ or a ‘racist’. Had the JC actually bothered to read my writing or taken the time to follow my speeches and debates, they would have realised that there is no trace of ‘racism’ or ‘anti-Semitism’ in my work: yes, I am critical of Jewish politics; yes I am an opponent of Jewish political power, and yes, I follow my duties as a humanist to expose Jewish identity politics for what it really is. This fact alone may explain why my book is supported by respected humanists and some of the most distinguished academics, all of whom are held in high regard in their fields and beyond.

The JC complains that “in the book Atzmon discusses his belief that ‘the Holocaust religion was well-established’ before the Nazis carried out aspects of the Shoah including the Final Solution and Kristallnacht.”

The JC is absolutely correct here. That is exactly what I am discussing. And yet, the question is, what is wrong with doing so? Is it racist or anti-Semitic? And indeed, I also insist that trauma is inherent to Jewish Culture.

Here is, for instance, an old Jewish joke from the 19th century...

A Jewish Telegram:
‘Get Worried, details to follow’.

In ‘The Wandering Who?’ I contend that Jewish identity politics is defined by a unique condition, namely, ‘Pre Traumatic Stress Disorder’. It is the ‘future trauma’ that shapes the Jewish present and ideology.

The JC is also concerned with the following quote: "It is more than likely that 'Jews' do not have a centre or headquarters. It is more than likely that they aren't aware of their particular role within the entire system, the way an organ is not aware of its role within the complexity of an organism."

And yet I am puzzled by their concern: what is exactly wrong with the above? If anything, it suggests that there are no Jewish conspiracies, and that Jews as people are actually innocent of the sinister associations of such.

Or, does The JC prefer to argue otherwise? Would The JC insist that Lord Levy knew exactly what he was doing when he was the leading fundraiser for a government that took Britain into an illegal war? Does The JC prefer to argue that Neocons David Aaronovitch and Nick Cohen knew exactly what they were doing when they advocated the same war on every British press outlet that was foolish enough to let their voice be heard?

I actually seem to be slightly kinder to Aaronovitch, Cohen, Levy, Saban, Wolfowitz, Freidman, Sharon, Peres, Livni, Greenspan, Foxman and many others: I am happy to agree that they were hijacked by a lethal ideology or culture rather than being consciously sinister.

The Guardian of British Jews

I also learned from the JC that “A Guardian spokeswoman said that the way its books were advertised online would be reviewed following complaints about The Wandering Who?”

I think that The Guardian should indeed review its policy -- and the sooner the better. When I settled in this country seventeen years ago the ‘Left’ paper was regarded by many as the ‘guardian of the truth’, and yet it seems as if, in the last few years, this paper has deteriorated into a guardian of Zionist interests. This, explain for instance, The Guardian’s dubious relationship with Wiki leaks, and it explains why the paper failed to publish leaks concerning Israel. In a recent Counterpunch expose, Jonathan Cook elaborated on the Guardian as an increasingly Dangerous Cult.

However, I still want to believe that The Guardian will find within itself the powers to liberate itself from its current masters, for now, more than ever, we need in this country a brave, egalitarian critical outlet rather than yet another Zionist submissive mouthpiece.

Anne, Shlomo and Me

And now here is the good news: it seems as if the JC/Guardian joint efforts to stop ‘The Wandering Who’ have been totally counterproductive, for according to Amazon, The Wandering Who is number 2 on the ‘Bestsellers in Religious History of Judaism’ list.

This morning, number 1 is Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl; number 2 is The Wandering Who?; Number 3 is Anne Frank Again (different edition) and Number 4 is Shlomo Sand’s The Invention of the Jewish People. It is not a coincidence. As it happens, The Wandering Who? is there to locate Anne Frank within the context of the phantasmic invention of the Jewish people.

By now, it should be clear to both The Guardian and the JC that their joint attempt has failed. But far more interesting is the fact that their failure is just another symptom of their growing intellectual irrelevance.

If some Jewish people still insist on regarding themselves as ‘the people of the book’, they should stop wasting their time, and they should start to engage in a dialogue with my text rather than trying to burn it. If Jews insist that I am misguided and wrong, they would be better off showing some tolerance and joining in the open debate.

I wish them luck -- but I don’t hold my breath.
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The Invention of the Jewish People by Shlomo Sand
The Wandering Who by Gilad Atzmon
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Gilad Atzmon was born in Israel in 1963 and had his musical training at the Rubin Academy of Music, Jerusalem (Composition and Jazz). As a multi-instrumentalist he plays Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Baritone Saxes, Clarinet and Flutes. His album Exile was the BBC jazz album of the year in 2003. He has been described by John Lewis on the Guardian as the “hardest-gigging man in British jazz". His albums, of which he has recorded nine to date, often explore political themes and the music of the Middle East.

Until 1994 he was a producer-arranger for various Israeli Dance & Rock Projects, performing in Europe and the USA playing ethnic music as well as R&R and Jazz.

Coming to the UK in 1994, Atzmon recovered an interest in playing the music of the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe that had been in the back of his mind for years. In 2000 he founded the Orient House Ensemble in London and started re-defining his own roots in the light of his emerging political awareness. Since then the Orient House Ensemble has toured all over the world. The Ensemble includes Eddie Hick on Drums, Yaron Stavi on Bass and Frank Harrison on piano & electronics. Also, being a prolific writer, Atzmon's essays are widely published. His novels 'Guide to the perplexed' and 'My One And Only Love' have been translated into 24 languages. The Wandering Who? can be ordered HERE. Gilad Atzmon's Blog is HERE.
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Illustration/Caption: BBC
Screenshot: Amazon's Bestseller link
Published here: Gilad Atzmon's Blog
URL: http://www.a-w-i-p.com/index.php/2011/10/24/thank-god-for-the-lemgjewish-chroniclel