Interview: Gilad Atzmon

Q: Why do you oppose your Jewish and Israeli identity?

GA: I do not oppose Jewish or Israeli identity. I oppose any possible form of Jewish politics and indeed any identity politics. The reason is simple. Since Jewish identity is racially orientated, every permutation of Jewish politics is racist to the bone and I am obviously against racism. In fact, Israel and Zionism was originally an attempt to rescue the Jew from racist politics and racial political orientation. Zionism invented the Jewish nation. (or: Jews as a nation). Early Zionists attempted to present the Jews as a people amongst other people instead of a distinct race. This idea looked fine on paper, yet, the reality of the Jewish state proves that Israel is the most radical form of Jewish chauvinism. The Israeli legal system is totally discriminatory toward non Jews. Israeli policies are no different form Nazi racial laws.

Q: What was it that hurt you so much as to state publicly that you fight the Israeli in you? Don’t you feel that this is a harsh statement to make? A statement that shows anger?

GA: Yes I am indeed angry. Watching 1.5 million Palestinians being starved in Gaza makes me angry. Watching the IDF throw bombs and white phosphorous on elders, women and children who seek shelter in an UNRA compound makes me angry. Watching the Israeli air force flatten Lebanon in 2006 made me angry. Watching the holy land get sliced by a gigantic separation wall makes me angry. Transforming Palestine into a Jewish bunker makes me angry. Meeting dispossessed Palestinian refugees who cannot even visit their land makes me very angry. Realising that 1.5 million Iraqis lost their life because of a Zionist global war designed by Ziocon Wolfowitz makes me furious. Zionists advocating the Killing of Muslims in the name of moral interventionism freaks me out. Watching AIPAC promote more wars and violence makes my blood boil.
Q: Don’t Israelis or Jews have the right for a national homeland, a safe homeland that is?

GA: Strictly speaking the answer is NO. If the Jews ever had a right for a national home, they lost this right a long time ago. As we know Zionism celebrated the Jewish national revival at the expense of the Palestinian people.

Would you allow a bunch of Italian lunatics to invade your home in Athens just because they are convinced that your dwelling was once part of the Roman Empire? They could claim that your home was a property of their Roman forefathers. Clearly, Italians wouldn’t get away with it, but Zionists did, at least for a while.

There is no right for a racist state that celebrates its tribal symptoms at the expense of others. There is no room for Israel amongst the nations.

Q: What concessions have to be made for Palestinians to live free and prosper?

GA: Pretty simple. Israel must become a state of its citizens. At the moment a Jew in Brooklyn enjoys more rights in Palestine than a Palestinian who was born on the land.
Q: Why should Israelis cut down on armaments? Is it not the case that the increase in military equipment is due to their sentiment of insecurity, as they are surrounded by Arabs?

GA: It doesn’t matter anymore whether Israel cuts down on armaments. Israel’s defeat is inevitable. In 2006 the entire Israeli military was humiliated by a small paramilitary organization namely the Hezbollah. In 2009 Israel didn’t achieve any of its military objectives in spite of the massive deployment of IDF units and the collective punishment of civilians by using extreme military measures against civilians including WMDs. The Israelis employ more and more force, they entangle themselves in more and more colossal war crimes, the legitimacy of the Jewish State is a matter for historians. The doomed fate of Israel is written on the wall.