Gilad Atzmon

In an open letter published in the Jewish Chronicle, notorious hard core Zionist David Hirsh advises the opposition leader what to do if he seeks ‘the trust of Jewish voters.’ As usual, Hirsh has produced an obscure document that reveals little other than the delusional level of Judeo-centrism symptomatic of Hirsh and his ilk.

Hirsh lists Corbyn’s ‘crimes:’ “You worked for Press TV, the Iranian regime's propaganda channel and you recommend Russia Today, Putin's version. You appear in cosy pictures with Hugo Chavez, with Hamas, with Gerry Adams (days after the Brighton bombing) and with Hezbollah. You said that Nato is the aggressor in Ukraine and that Daesh is no worse than the USA. You were the national chair of Stop the War even when it appeared to endorse the killing of British soldiers. You celebrated the anniversary of the Iranian revolution.”

Yet, despite this roster, Corbyn won the Labour leadership in a landslide victory that left the Blairites and the usual Sabbos Goyim far behind, isolated and humiliated. How did this happen? Simple, for the vast majority of Labour members, Corbyn’s ‘crimes’ were not a problem, quite the opposite. Labour party members made Corbyn their leader because they agree with the rationale behind his arguments and affiliations. They chose Corbyn as their leader because they are not happy with the Jewish Lobby hijacking their country’s politics.

Hirsh cites Fascism as a prime concern; but you would expect a Jewish academic to know what Fascism was and is. “You don't have to be for starting a war with Daesh and Assad; but you do have to make it clear that in principle you side with those struggling against fascism and for democracy.” To this Jewish academic both Asad and Daesh are ‘Fascists.’ I guess that within the solipsistic kosher universe, Fascism is basically everything that Jews hate. But the true definition of Fascism is slightly more nuanced. Fascism is a pretty clear worldview. It is secular, nationalist, socialist and led by a strong government that is often authoritarian. Daesh, or any other Islamic system of government, can never be Fascist by definition.

The fact that Hirsh doesn’t understand Fascism is a little surprising, but let us see what anti Semitism means to the Jewish academic. “There has always been a temptation to imagine Jews as powerful, selling the oppressed to the exploiters for silver. The image of Jews as enablers of injustice, twisters of words and doers of evil runs deep.”

I don’t see how Corbyn is involved with any of the above, and, from an intellectual perspective, I can’t understand why is it more ‘conspiratorial’ to say that Jews are ‘too powerful’ than to claim that Jews are not powerful at all. The question of whether Jews are powerful can easily be measured statistically and demographically. However, if Jewish power is defined as the power to prevent us from looking into Jewish power then the ‘anti Semitism slur’ is the means used to effectuate such power.

“Antisemitism” Hirsh continues, “mobilises around vile myth instead of around rational critique.” I am puzzled again, is it really ‘irrational’ to examine or criticize the politics and culture of the most powerful people in our society? Was Max Weber’s search into the role of Protestants in capitalism irrational? Would examination of the cultural and ideological roots of the British aristocracy be irrational? Zionism was a promise to make Jews like all other people. At a minimum, Zionist Jews should insist that Jewish culture and politics be subject to the same criticism and scrutiny as other cultures.

Hirsh wants Corbyn to show that he understands “the distinction between criticism of Israel and antisemitism.” But this is a false distinction. The Jewish Chronicle that published Hirsh’s letter and rallied against Corbyn for two months claimed to speak in the name of the “majority of British Jews.” But the Jewish Chronicle is not exactly an Israeli paper, it is actually a Jewish paper. The BOD that also claims to represent British Jewry and was highly critical of Corbyn is not an Israeli body either, it is a British Jewish institution. Hirsh’s false distinction ignores the fact that Israel actually defines itself as the Jewish State and it seems that the vast majority of Jewish institutions support Israel and its existence as the Jews only State. The distinction between Jews and their state is far from obvious. In fact, the only person to offer a useful tool to address the topic by making categorical distinctions among Jews, Judaism and Jewishness is yours truly (The Wandering Who?, Zero Books).

Hirsh’s missive seems to express the wish that Corbyn becomes a Zionist Jew like Hirsh: “you say you hate antisemitism. So support those who fight for peace, not Hamas and Hezbollah who fight for victory over the Jews rather than peace with Israel.”

Corbyn won the Labour leadership in spite of a vile Jewish campaign against him run by the Jewish Chronicle and other Jewish outlets. Corbyn won the Labour leadership in part because he sees friends in Hamas and Hezbollah.

Seemingly, Hirsh wants to reinstate to role of the Jews in the party. “At the moment, lots of Jews feel locked out of the party; both the Labour Party and also the carnival of joy and optimism. Your new Labour Party does not feel like a safe place for Jews.”

I suppose that Hirsh may be correct in his observation. But Corbyn has nothing to do with it. The Jewish sense of rejection is clearly self-inflicted and a direct outcome of the usual pre-traumatic stress syndrome (Pre-TSD). British Jewish community leaders may want to look in the mirror and admit to themselves that once again they have managed to corner themselves.

Hirsh writes to Corbyn “you can bring lots of us back,” but he knows that this is a lie. Corbyn cannot bring anyone back. The Jewish hate fest against Corbyn and Labour is not going to stop or fade. However, Corbyn’s victory does indicate a sharp decline of Jewish power. Jewish history teaches us that when Jewish power declines, it happens very fast and the consequences are often tragic. Let us hope that this time things will be different, but for that to happen Jews must learn to self reflect. Instead of telling Corbyn what to do in order to appease the Jews, Hirsh and Jewish community leaders ought to ask themselves why the opposition to Jews is growing. If Jewish community leaders fail to find the answers, I would be happy to make my way to Golders Green and give them a brief lecture in exchange for a bag of shekels.

-###-

Gilad Atzmon is a British Jazz artist and author. Gilad was born in Israel in 1963 and trained at the Rubin Academy of Music, Jerusalem (Composition and Jazz). A multi-instrumentalist he plays saxophones, clarinet and ethnic woodwind instruments. His album Exile was the BBC jazz album of the year in 2003. Gilad writes on political matters, social issues, Jewish identity and culture. His papers are published on very many press outlets around the world. Gilad is a popular political analyst and is often guesting on Television and Radio stations around the world such as RT, Press TV, BBC and many more. Atzmon's novels 'Guide to the Perplexed