Gaza, Essentialism and Jewish History

Gilad Atzmon Interviewed by Alimuddin Usmani for Egalité et Réconciliation

Alimuddin Usmani: As I write to you, the ceasefire has, once again, collapsed between Israel and Palestinian fighters in Gaza. In its attempt to kill Hamas armed wing leader, Mohammed Deif, the IDF failed, and instead killed his wife and infant son. It is increasingly clear that Israel is stuck in this conflict and doesn't know how to end it. You were the first to say that Israel was "desperate for a break in the violence." How were you able to predict this outcome when most analysts failed?

Gilad Atzmon: Unlike the Jewish ‘progressive’ commentators who have dominated the Palestinian solidarity discourse for about two decades, I am a reactionary essentialist. I believe that events in history and politics become meaningful only when analyzed within an rigorous essentialist context. Righteous progressive Jews suffocate the discourse with tons of anecdotal details in order to conceal the Jewish ideology at the core of the crimes committed by the Jewish State and the Lobby. I firmly believe that every Israeli and Jewish collective political activity from AIPAC to Mondoweiss can be understood within the framework of Jewish culture, ideology and heritage.

By now I am not a lone voice anymore. Many scholars and commentators detect the obvious spin at the heart of the Jewish progressive discourse. The Jewish State openly proclaims its commitment to Jewishness, Jewish values and heritage, making the Jewish progressive attempt to prevent an understanding of Israeli crime and Jewish lobbying within the context of Jewish culture, ideology and heritage almost amusing.

As an essentialist it is clear that Israeli barbarism, the Nakba, the Holodomor, the Zio-driven neocon movement and even the crimes committed by the Yiddish speaking International Brigade at the time of the Spanish Civil war must be examined in the light of Jewish goy hatred, Jewish supremacy and the unique sense of Jewish righteousness inextricably intertwined with Jewish self-love.

Once Israeli politics are viewed within the framework of Jewishness, every Israeli war crime and cabinet decision is predictable.

Moreover, if self-destruction and the Shoah are embedded within Jewish cultural DNA, it is impossible to avoid the devastating conclusion that what Israel is doing in publicly targeting a helpless civilian population is a repetition of the way in which Jews have managed to bring total disasters upon themselves.

Two months ago, Jewish Theologian Marc Ellis published a book on Jewish prophecy. Ellis wrote,

“like the ancient prophets Atzmon exposes Jews. At the same time, Atzmon believes that the Bible, from which the prophets spring, is bogus….Atzmon provides no hiding place for Jews anywhere.” (Future of the Prophetic, Marc H. Ellis p 332).

I was obviously flattered by Ellis equating me with Moses and Ezekiel and casting me as the contemporary Jewish prophet. But I felt the need to correct Ellis- it is my essentialism and philosophical approach that helps me to grasp and predict Israeli behaviour and political conduct. Sadly, I have no supernatural prophetic abilities.

The take home message is clear. If Israel defines itself as the Jewish State, we should accept its own definition. Once we do that, the entire machinery of Jewish collective action reveals itself. Israel and its Jewish lobby are transparent, predictable and consistent with the Book of Esther. Less obviously, but just as consistently, the Jewish Left, including George Soros and his ilk, are revealed as a deliberately deceptive but transparent form of controlled opposition.

Alimuddin Usmani: Recently the US halted the transfer of Hellfire missiles to Israel. Is the US rethinking its relationship with Israel and understanding that the Jewish State is not a strategic asset anymore?

Gilad Atzmon: America realized a while ago that Israel is not a strategic asset. Dependence on Middle East oil is decreasing and the Pentagon knows by now that the chances that America will ever use Israel as a runway for its Air Force are nonexistent.

And yet, the Jewish Lobby is still the most significant political power in Washington, and to a certain extent, still dominates US foreign policy. In the last four decades, Israel and the Jewish lobby have invested an enormous effort aimed at dominating American politics. By now, they have pretty much achieved domination, only to discover that once again they ‘won the battle but lost the war.’ By the time Washington became an Israeli colony, America lost its prime position as a peace broker. And again, an essentialist perspective sheds light on the role of the Jewish elite in this endeavor.

America is not the first or second super power to be brought down by Jewish power. It is just the latest in a long line. America would love to emancipate itself, but in order to do so, it must first seal the hole in its system that allows a foreign lobby to dominate its policy.

Alimuddin Usmani: During the demonstrations in Paris against the Israeli war we saw the emergence of a group called "Gaza firm." Some analysts believe that they are a kind of ‘Goyim defense league.’ What is your analysis of this new phenomenon?

Gilad Atzmon: I think that a ‘goyim defense league’ is a necessary development. I have come to believe that resistance to Jewish politics and power is the only thing that can save world peace as well as the Jews.

The suppression of anti-Jewish feelings by means of ‘political correctness’ has led, on the one hand, to Jewish impunity, and, on the other, to explosive and violent resentment toward Jews. The natural opposition toward Jewish politics and supremacist attitudes should never have been suppressed. Opposition must be openly addressed if only so that Jews and their state grasp that their liberties are not limitless.
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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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Source: Gilad's Blog. Image: Encyclopaedia Judaica: Gaza Strip and Jews in Gaza city
URL: http://www.a-w-i-p.com/index.php/2014/08/23/gaza-essentialism-and-jewish-history