‘Jerusalemites’ caused Grenfell, Atzmon claims
GILAD ATZMON, the antisemitic author and jazz musician, has claimed the Grenfell Tower tragedy was the responsibility of “Jerusalemites” who were “following mitzvot”.
Giving a talk at the Reading International Festival, he blamed the tragedy, which killed at least 80 people and left hundreds more injured, homeless and traumatised, on those who followed “commandments”.
Mr Atzmon made a distinction between critical thinkers — who he labelled “Athenites”— and the “Jerusalemites” who followed “mitzvot”.
He said: “How is it related to Grenfell Tower? Very simple. People who think things through, who understand about responsibility and morality and ethics, don’t clad buildings all over the country with flammable materials.
“But when it happens, it is ‘we were following regulations, we were following mitzvot’.”
He continued: “Athens and Jerusalem is not Jews versus goyim or Jews versus gentiles. Athens and Jerusalem is thinking things through as opposed to following regulations, mitzvot, commandments, laws.
“The Ten Commandments is Jerusalem. I don’t need you to tell me I should not kill. Athens is ethics, Jerusalem is anti-ethics.”
But “Jerusalemites” were not necessarily Jews, Mr Atzmon insisted. “Tony Blair is not a Jew and he’s a Jerusalemite.”
In the 90-minute speech, at a venue in Reading, the Israeli-born writer, who has previously challenged Holocaust denial legislation, claimed that the policies of the major political parties were determined by Israel supporters.
He said: “Even the democratic process does not really matter. If you vote Labour, the polices are shaped by Labour Friends of Israel, if you vote Conservative it’s CFI [Conservative Friends of Israel].
He blamed “the Jews” for the collapse of the traditional leftwing politics that, he said, once appealed to him.
He went on: “The Jewish lobby is a cosmopolitan lobby. It has turned every person in the universe into a tribe who operates like a Jew.
“Look at it — the gays are doing fine, the blacks are doing fine, the women are doing fine, but the Jews are doing really fine. They have a state, hundreds of atomic bombs, they have F16s, F35s [fighter aircraft].
“How many gays have a state, an atomic bomb, an army? How many blacks have a lobby that shapes American foreign policy so everyone is tribal like a Jew? But the Jews are doing way better than everyone else. “
A protest organised by Rachel Eden, a Labour councillor, and attended by congregants of the Jewish Community of Berkshire and members of Reading’s LGBT+ community was held outside the event.
Rabbi Zvi Solomons, of the Jewish Community of Berkshire, said his congregation was “horrified” by Mr Atzmon’s appearance at the festival and “gravely disappointed that it went ahead despite attempts to have it cancelled”.
Mr Atzmon also played two shows at the Pizza Express Jazz Club in Soho, central London, last weekend.
Pizza Express told the JC that the views expressed by Mr Atzmon “are not reflective” of the company’s values. A spokeswoman said: “Gilad Atzmon is a musician who has performed at our venues for over 20 years, and his gigs have always proven to be very popular with our customers.”