Gilad Atzmon

Atzmon was born in Jerusalem, was raised in Israel, and has lived in Britain since 1994.[3][2] He served in the Israel Defense Forces before emigrating to the United Kingdom and renouncing his Israeli citizenship.[4] In Britain, he developed an international career as a jazz musician while publishing books and articles about Israel, Zionism, and Jewish identity.[1][2] He publicly describes himself as an “ex-Israeli” and an “ex-Jew.”[1]

In a 2011 interview reported by Ynet News, Atzmon described himself as “proud to be a self-hating Jew” and said, “I despise the Jew in me,” adding that he was a strong opponent of what he called “Jewishness.”[2] He has denied that his criticism targets Jews as a people, race, or ethnicity, maintaining that it instead concerns what he describes as “some aspects of Jewish identity politics.”[6]

Atzmon became an internationally performing jazz musician in Britain and played at prominent European jazz clubs.[2] Alongside his musical career, he published books and articles criticizing Israel and examining Zionism and Jewish identity.[1][2]

His 2011 book The Wandering Who? A Study of Jewish Identity Politics brought sustained attention to his political writing. Atzmon said it sold 6,000 copies during its first month, and it received endorsements from Richard Falk, John J. Mearsheimer, and James Petras.[2] CAMERA-UK reports that the book contains a chapter titled “Swindler’s List” and characterizes its themes as Holocaust revisionism and an attempt to rehabilitate Hitler.[7] The ADL cites the book for statements it classifies as trivializing or distorting the Holocaust, including a passage depicting Holocaust education trips to Auschwitz for Israeli youths as a means of producing trauma that sustains a Zionist narrative.[8]

At the 2009 World Economic Forum in Davos, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan quoted Atzmon while denouncing Israel before Shimon Peres, citing the line, “Israeli barbarity is far beyond even ordinary cruelty.”[7] The SOAS Palestine Society had previously invited Atzmon to address students on March 23, 2005.[3] In a February 2011 interview, he voiced support for the terrorist organizations Hamas and Hezbollah as well as the Muslim Brotherhood, stating, “I support Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbollah, and I support Hamas.”[8]

Atzmon’s public reputation combines recognition as an international jazz performer with intense dispute over his political writing.[1][2] The Wandering Who? drew praise from Richard Falk, John J. Mearsheimer, and James Petras, while ADL and CAMERA-UK publications characterized its arguments as antisemitic, Holocaust-distorting, or revisionist.[1][7]

CAMERA reported a significant counterassessment from Mearsheimer, who called accusations that Atzmon was a Holocaust denier or an apologist for Hitler “baseless” and said Atzmon was not an antisemite.[5] The sharply divided reception of the book and Atzmon’s subsequent statements has made debate over his political views a defining part of his public profile.[1][5]

The Anti-Defamation League describes Atzmon as a promoter of antisemitic conspiracy theories and organizes cited statements under headings concerning Jewish responsibility and control, support for terrorist groups engaged in violent resistance against Israel, Holocaust distortion, and opposition to Israel as a Jewish state.[1][8] The ADL says his work appears to appeal to fringe audiences including Black nationalists, white supremacists, and Holocaust deniers. It also reports that his work was cited by former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke and Holocaust denier Ernst Zündel and that he appeared on the Nation of Islam’s “Muhammad and Friends” television program in September 2014.[1]

A 2010 Community Security Trust report archived by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research describes Atzmon as “widely regarded as antisemitic,” including in some anti-Zionist circles.[9] The report reproduces a statement attributed to him calling for people affiliated with Israel and Zionism to be removed from political, governmental, military, or strategic positions, placing it within a broader debate over anti-Zionism, antisemitism, and collective responsibility.[9] Atzmon has also compared Israel with Nazi Germany, asserted that allegations of Jewish efforts to control the world should be taken seriously, and described the Holocaust as “an ancient religion.”[2] CAMERA quotes him as claiming that “the Holocaust narrative, in its current form, doesn’t make any historical sense.”[5] These are Atzmon’s reported statements and are not established historical facts.

In 2018, proceedings in the High Court of England and Wales arose from allegations Atzmon had published about Gideon Falter, chairman of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, between July and December 2017. Atzmon acknowledged that allegations accusing Falter of fabricating antisemitic incidents for personal gain were false, agreed not to republish them, offered an apology, and agreed to pay damages. Costs and damages were reported to total tens of thousands of pounds.[10]

Atzmon’s performance engagements have also attracted organized opposition. In December 2018, Islington Council barred him from performing with the Blockheads at a London venue, citing potential harm to relations with religious communities. Labour MP Chris Williamson later apologized for supporting a petition against the ban, saying he had not known about Atzmon’s statements when he shared it.[4] In January 2020, Atzmon withdrew from a scheduled performance at London’s 606 Club after criticism and a planned picket by the Campaign Against Antisemitism. The club said it would consult Jewish organizations while investigating allegations it described at the time as “so far unfounded.”[6]