GILAD ATZMON
Introduction by Gilad Atzmon: A few years ago I saw a small extract of this film (The story of the Bund in Israel- film by Eran Torbiner). This week a bigger chunk of the documentary was left on youtube.
http://youtu.be/SvmcRKvyrWk
This is a film about the ‘Jews only’ socialist party- The Bund. In the documentary you can watch for yourself ‘young’ revolutionary Bundists in action. In spite of being ‘Socialists’ and ‘Internationalists’, they, for some reason, ended up living in a ‘Jews only’ State in occupied Palestine at the expense of the Palestinians.
I guess that this may as well be, the real meaning of ‘Jewish socialism’- You sing the International in Yiddish on someone else’s land.
By the way, we do not have an access to the entire film, but so far, I didn’t notice a single reference to Palestine, Palestinians their cause or plight.
Towards the end, Bundist Yaakov Belek speaks nostalgically about the pre war Bund in Poland (7:41). His words are an insight into Jewish progressive supremacy and exceptionalism. It is almost disturbing to watch and listen. “The Bund was a unique Party” he says. “It wasn’t like any other party… it was an empire. A bund member was a different kind of person. Maybe I am a patriot but this is how it was. For years we grew bigger and bigger. Before the beginning of WWII it was the largest party in Poland. We possessed* everything. We had the youth, future, SKIP **, sport, so many schools, we were the new type, we were the new man’
It seems to me, as if Belek himself fails to grasp that he is outlining the true meaning of Jewish Power, we are special, we are unique, we are an empire, the future and we posses everything. I guess that AIPAC and CFI members are also blind to the potential danger entangled with their so-called ‘success’.
For a full deconstruction of Jewish Identity Politics (Left, right and centre) The Wandering Who, available on Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk
*GA: my translation from Hebrew
**GA: SKIP is a sociality youth movement http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sotsyalistishe_Kinder_Farband
2 thoughts on “GILAD ATZMON: THE BUND- A DISTURBING JEWISH POLITICAL EXERCISE (MUST WATCH)”
You are missing a lot of information about the Bund and its anti-Zionist stance. The Bund formed in Europe when (as you can often see among worker’s movements that fail to serve minorities and women) many thought they could not participate in other socialist movements. The platform of the Bund remained internationalist despite the movement’s ethnic identity. This organization stood against early colonial Zionism and, after the post-Holocaust pogroms in Poland, has continued to fight against Zionism and capitalism from within the state of Israel. Certainly, neither the Bund nor any large organization can be free from criticism, however if you learn more about it you will be able to formulate a more nuanced and sccurate critique. See this blog http://azvsas.blogspot.com/2011/11/bundist-past-that-zionism-has-tried-to.html and/or the Haaretz article http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/we-fought-for-a-better-tomorrow-1.375943
As far as I can see, Gilad Atzmon is not saying anything about the Bund`s position on Zionism. He is talking about the Jewish-only nature of the Bund. Which is an interesting point to consider.
His ideas are explained in Mazin Qumsiyeh`s summary of Atzmon`s book, the Wandering Who, at http://www.australiansforpalestine.net/62724#more-62724.
I can vouch for some of the points he makes. (Apart from the assertion that there is no Jewish racial identity, which is far from accepted.).
It makes uncomfortable reading for those Jewish critics of Zionism who refuse to examine the effects and implications which flow from the group mentality of many- but by no means all- Jews.
Atzmon is unfairly accused of being prejudiced against Jews, from what I have read of his writings.
For example, his essay “On Anti Semitism”, contains many valid observations, even if he gets a bit carried away and hyperbolic, and logically untenable.
http://web.archive.org/web/20050213011436/http://www.gilad.co.uk/html%20files/onanti.html