#1
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Gilad Atzmon exists now as nothing but a pariah to both the anti-Zionist community in the west and to the world at large. His statements such as "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" draw a barrage of outrage from all quarters, and he is no longer welcome at any of the standard locations for British anti-Zionist activism and debate (the SWP's Marxism festival, Electronic Intifada and so on).

In this one man is embodied the Zionist dual criticism levelled at those who stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people - you are an anti-Semite, or if you are Jewish you are self-loathing. He takes it further than any other relatively mainstream, or at least non-fascist, figure in the West by verging on Holocaust denial.

However, I believe there is more to Atzmon than meets the eye. Isn't this too perfect - an Israeli-born Jew, who is publicly ambivalent about the authenticity of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and defends to the hilt the right of Palestinian self-defence? Isn't he the perfect western Zionist bogeyman?

This, I think, is a conscious choice by Atzmon. As a member of the same group that he is rounding on, he prevents any generalisation of the criticisms against him. While every anti-Zionist Jew might be self-loathing, they're certainly not anti-Semitic. Contrast this to the anti-Semitic characterisation of every anti-Zionist African-American, for example. Gilad Atzmon dies, so that Ali Abunimah may live - or at least sign a strident statement denouncing his views.

His role is that of vanishing mediator, standing alone in a third place so that Zionist and anti-Zionist alike may hurl rotten fruit - and any Zionist accusation of anti-Semitism may be countered by waving a piece of paper that denounces the rank anti-Semite Atzmon.

Gilad Atzmon stands as a Jewish Messiah, dying for the sins of gentiles and their forefathers. Come, impale Atzmon with a lance upon the cross! Laurie Penny! Richard Seymour! Denounce! Cast him into outer darkness! Cleanse thyselves of the shame of over 700 years! Wash your hands in the blood of this last Jew, and erase the stain of centuries! Walk into the pure light of philosemitic anti-Zionism!

Edited by blinkandwheeze ()

#2
Mike Nelson here.
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5... just... 5
#3
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I call your Gilad Atzmon and raise with a Yossi Gurwitz


and i love how leftists suddenly seem to forget that there's nothing jews love more than calling other jews anti-Semitic when they fawn over some token israeli leftist as if the average zio bot would actually take leftist critique more seriously if it comes from the mouths of jewish dissidents.
#4
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yeah i didn't actually read the op, it's a problem.
#5
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yeah but it makes anti-zionists feel better and more confident about themselves, and isnt that really the main thing
#6
penitent
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its me, im gilad atzmon irl
#7
penitent
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the anti-zionist left hates atzmon because they know he's right, because he can say the truth but they're not allowed to
#8
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While every anti-Zionist Jew might be self-loathing, they're certainly not anti-Semitic

that's really wrong.
#9
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but it is a good theory, no?
#10
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hmm yeah but essentially Atzmon is just an interesting singular example of the israeli 'real-left', most of them are not full-blown BDS supporters and a majority of them do not support the BDS/Palestinian vision of the RoR as a pre-requisite for normalization and yet they are obviously among the most helpful and dedicated pro-palestinian activists out there. Most of the people who are not palestinians who protest in places like Sheikh Jarrah, Nabi Saleh and Billin are clearly israelis.

so, essentially, 'the israeli left' are representitive of this 'third positionism' re-zionism that is in fact globally scorned.
#11
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well atzmon describes himself as a "hebrew-speaking palestinian"....
#12
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I do that too for shock value. it's not really critical, it's a good rhetoric when dealing with racist liberal-zionists who are not aware of their anti-palestinian bigotry but otherwise like... so?
#13
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do you call yourself an ex-jew as well
#14
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I say a whole bunch of idiotic things. I honestly define myself as never having been jewish other than in the eyes of other jews, i consider judaism to be a religion which i never have practiced.

This sentiment is also not unique and you can see Yossi G talking about how 'secular judaism' is usually just a step before a person chooses to define as 'human' etc.

The significance of Atzmon might be that he addresses a more international crowd while most 'dissidents israelis' write in hebrew and attempt to adress israelis.

#15
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Gideon Levy, dissident leftist journalist, self-hating-jew, reality TV star


yeah that's real.
#16
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does he also say that jews persecuted hitler
#17
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He ain't no Clarence Clemons that's for sure.
#18
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gilad atzmon is a poor man's dror feiler







#19
[account deactivated]
#20
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no, that's "dour failure"
#21
[account deactivated]