Gilad Atzmon - Allegations of Antisemitism and Racism

Allegations of Antisemitism and Racism

John Lewis writes that Atzmon's anti-Jewish rhetoric has created many foes for Atzmon, even onetime associates. Some Palestinian activists see his statements as discrediting their cause, while the British Socialist Workers Party, which at one time regularly invited him to their annual Marxism event, now distances itself from Atzmon.

Several of Atzmon's statements regarding Jews and Judaism have led to allegations of antisemitism. In 2004 the Board of Deputies of British Jews criticized Atzmon for saying, "I'm not going to say whether it is right or not to burn down a synagogue, I can see that it is a rational act." Atzmon responded in a letter to The Observer that "since Israel presents itself as the 'state of the Jewish people’ ... any form of anti-Jewish activity may be seen as political retaliation. This does not make it right."

In a 2005 piece David Aaronovitch criticized Atzmon for writing in his essay "On Anti-Semitism" that "We must begin to take the accusation that the Jewish people are trying to control the world very seriously." and "American Jewry makes any debate on whether the 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion' are an authentic document or rather a forged irrelevant. American Jews do control the world, by proxy. So far they are doing pretty well for themselves at least"; Aaronovitch said Atzmon was "a silly boy advancing slightly dangerous arguments." Aaronovitch also criticized Atzmon for circulating an essay by Paul Eisen defending Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel and supporting many aspects of Zündel's Holocaust denial theories. Aaronovitch wrote that Atzmon said he had a "slightly different" view than Eisen: "the Holocaust like any other historical narrative is a dynamic process of realisation and interpretation." Atzmon has said he does not deny the Holocaust or the “Nazi Judeocide” but insists “that both the Holocaust and World War II should be treated as historical events rather than as religious myth. . . . But then, even if we accept the Holocaust as the new Anglo-American liberal-democratic religion, we must allow people to be atheists.” In a 2006 piece in The Guardian, David Hirsh cited Atzmon's "On Anti-Semitism" essay, and particularly its Jewish deicide claim that "the Jews were responsible for the killing of Jesus," as an example of Atzmon's "openly anti-Jewish rhetoric." In response to a question about this quote from Lenni Brenner, Atzmon replied that he meant "I find it astonishing that people today happen to be offended by such accusations."

In 2007 the Swedish Committee Against Anti-Semitism criticized the Swedish Social Democratic Party for inviting Atzmon to speak, saying he had worked to "legitimize the hatred of Jews.” The party defended its choice of speaker. Nick Cohen, in a 2009 piece for The Observer, criticised Atzmon's declaration that "Jewish ideology is driving our planet into a catastrophe" and "the Jewish tribal mindset – left, centre and right – sets Jews aside of humanity". In his blog for The Times, Oliver Kamm charges Atzmon with antisemitism for his article "Truth, History and Integrity", in which Atzmon writes, "As it happened, it took me many years to understand that the Holocaust, the core belief of the contemporary Jewish faith, was not at all an historical narrative for historical narratives do not need the protection of the law and politicians. . . . It took me years to accept that the Holocaust narrative, in its current form, doesn’t make any historical sense."

According to Irish academic David Landy, a former chair of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Atzmon's words, "if not actually anti-Semitic, certainly border on it". Ynetnews has used Atzmon as an example of Jewish anti-Semitism: "Gilad Atzmon, an Israeli jazz musician, defines himself as anti-Jewish and sees the torching of synagogues as a rational move."

In a review of Howard Jacobson's 2010 Man Booker Prize-winning novel The Finkler Question, Edward Alexander writes, "the novel’s Holocaust-denying Israeli yored drummer is in fact based upon one Gilad Atzmon, who is better known in England for endorsing the ideology of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and describing the burning of British synagogues as a 'rational act' in retaliation for Israeli actions."

In September 2011 trade unionist and blogger Andy Newman wrote in The Guardian that Atzmon's political writing are "a wild conspiracy argument, dripping with contempt for Jews". In a letter to the editor printed by the Guardian Atzmon wrote that Newman had "misrepresented" his views and that "how to define a Jew is a loaded topic since Jews define themselves in many different ways, some contradictory, and use those definitions to try to achieve political aims."

In November 2011, Hope not Hate, a United Kingdom anti-fascism and anti-racism campaign group issued a call to cancel a Gilad Atzmon performance at the "Raise Your Banners" festival of political song, stating "Bradford TUC has long been at the fore of the anti-fascist movement in the area and it is in this tradition that we demand the withdrawal of Atzmon’s invitation". Bradford Trades Union Council condemned the appearance and the Board of Deputies of British Jews asked the Arts Council, which had funded the festival, to stop the performance. The Arts Council refused the request. Gerry Sutcliffe, the Labour MP for Bradford South, and the Right Reverend David Ison of the Bradford Cathedral also called for the festival to rescind their invitation to Atzmon. The Raise Your Banners director said organisers did not believe the claims of anti-semitism. Atzmon said the Trade Union Council’s letter “stitched together” into one quote phrases from five separate paragraphs to make him look racist. He said he wanted an apology.

In March 2012, a group of leading Palestinian activists issued a statement calling for " the disavowal of Atzmon by fellow Palestinian organizers, as well as Palestine solidarity activists, and allies of the Palestinian people". Describing him as a racist and antisemite, the statement affirmed that "we regard any attempt to link and adopt antisemitic or racist language, even if it is within a self-described anti-imperialist and anti-Zionist politics, as reaffirming and legitimizing Zionism." Signatories to the statement included Ali Abunimah, Naseer Aruri, Omar Barghouti, Nadia Hijab, Joseph Massad and several others.

Atzmon refers to charges of antisemitism as being a "common Zionist silencing apparatus." He denies both that he is an antisemite and the very existence of antisemitism, stating that "'Anti-Semite' is an empty signifier, no one actually can be an Anti-Semite and this includes me of course. In short, you are either a racist which I am not or have an ideological disagreement with Zionism, which I have." In 2009, Atzmon said "I've got nothing against the Semite people, I don't have anything against people — I'm anti-Jewish, not anti-Jews." He added that "Stupidly we interpreted the Nazi defeat as a vindication of the Jewish ideology and the Jewish people", however, "in fact Jewish ideology and Nazi ideology were very similar." In 2009 Atzmon debated David Aaronovitch and Nick Cohen on the topic of “Anti-Semitism – Alive and Well in Europe?” at the 2009 Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival.

Atzmon says his statements have lost him performance contracts, especially in the United States. Atzmon has had conflicts with some anti-Zionists who have attempted to stop his performances. Some Palestinian and Palestine-solidarity groups have called for him to be shunned as an antisemite.