The Labour MP Chris Williamson has been forced to apologise for backing a petition in support of Gilad Atzmon, a musician who has denounced “the Holocaust religion” and suggested there is a Zionist plan for world domination.
A Labour spokesman called Atzmon “a vile antisemite” and said it was right Williamson had apologised.
The MP for Derby North had promoted a petition defending Atzmon, a jazz saxophonist who has been banned by Islington council from performing with the Blockheads at a venue in the north London borough.
Williamson is a vociferous defender of Jeremy Corbyn, although his interventions have not always been viewed as helpful by the Labour leadership. Williamson later deleted his tweet and said he had not been aware of Atzmon’s previous comments.
“I’ve learned that Atzmon, a former Israeli soldier, is not confined to the jazz world. I am told that in various blogs and in speeches he has adopted antisemitic language,” he said.
“I wasn’t aware of this until after I tweeted the petition. As soon as I was informed, I deleted the tweet. I’ve always condemned all forms of racism, including antisemitism, and strongly disassociate myself from Atzmon’s antisemitic views.”
A Labour spokesman said: “Gilad Atzmon is a vile antisemite. Chris Williamson has said he was not aware of Atzmon’s appalling views and rightly apologised for his tweet.”
Islington council had said Atzmon’s record could harm its relationship with Jewish people in the borough if he was permitted to play with Ian Dury’s former band.
Atzmon has previously accused Jews of exploiting the Holocaust and distanced himself from his Jewish heritage. In a 2003 essay, he wrote: “We must begin to take the accusation that Zionists are trying to control the world very seriously.” In another article, he denounced “the Holocaust religion” and said Holocaust denial laws should be reconsidered.
Atzmon has suggested attacks on synagogues should be considered political acts rather than hate crimes. “I am here to announce as loudly as I can: there is no antisemitism any more,” he wrote. “In the devastating reality created by the Jewish state, antisemitism has been replaced by political reaction.
“I am not saying that synagogues aren’t being attacked, that Jewish graves are not brutally smashed up. I am saying that these acts, that are in no way legitimate, should be seen as political responses rather than racially motivated acts or ‘irrational’ hate crimes.”
The Jewish Labour Movement has called on Corbyn to suspend the whip from Williamson. “Chris Williamson has been baiting Jews in the party for too long unchecked. No more ifs or buts,” a spokesman said. “We expect Chris Williamson to be suspended from the Labour party today.”
In a statement on his website, Atzmon said he had been subjected to “an international smear campaign, orchestrated and promoted by various Zionist institutions that attempt to silence every form of legitimate dissent of Zionism and Israeli politics”.
He said there was no truth in allegations that he was an antisemite but said he had critiqued what he termed “Jewish political exceptionalism” and Zionism.
“I do believe that all states, ideologies and politics must be subject to criticism, but I have never criticised Jews (or anyone else for that matter) as people, as a race or as a biological entity,” he said.