Oliver Kamm has spent a lot of time on the case of Gilad Atzmon. He has, of course, written only about Atzmon's political beliefs (if political is the right word). Today, however, the Jerusalem Post reports that:

A popular and well known pizzeria and jazz music venue is hosting an alleged racist and anti-Semite musician which will be filmed by Al Jazeera.

I think we can do away with the 'alleged'. He is a racist and antisemite, and one who makes others of his ilk seem positively moderate.

From Wednesday, and for four nights, the Pizza on the Park in Knightsbridge, part of the Pizza Express restaurant chain, is hosting Jerusalem-born Gilad Atzmon, who is accused of racist and anti-Semitic statements and Holocaust denial.

A spokesperson for Pizza on the Park said, "Gilad Atzmon has been hired for his musical talents as an internationally recognized, respected and award-winning saxophonist and composer and who has performed to audiences all over the world, as well as London's premiere jazz venues. His performances at Pizza on the Park have attracted great interest."

Here's the reality. If Atzmon was indeed simply demonstrating his musical talents there might, perhaps, be a case for hiring him.

But he will not be.

Here's what Atzmon himself says (in the guise of one Artie Fishel) about the album he will be promoting:

I have now formed a Jewish band, the new home for Jewish music. It is called Artie Fishel and the Promised Band. You can all buy our album and merchandise (iBagel, T-shirts, Artie's Kugel) in every kosher deli around the world. You can judge for yourself. Our music is no doubt the best Jazz around. Our music is all about resistance. We resist civil rights.

The 'interview' goes on in much the same way.

The album has as deeply political a purpose as any of his writings or speeches. It just takes a different form, as one of Atzmon's supporters, Mary Rizzo, makes clear on the Al-Jazeerah site:

...[I]t is terribly entertaining, communicates an important message without being "overtly political" and it is different from anything most of us have seen up to now.

...There are very few truly political artistic projects around, and barely any that fearlessly fight the zionist brainwashing that we are subject to, so I think that efforts like this need the push they can get from those in activism, because the rest of the mass media does nothing whatsoever to point out the dissent that exists.

This is not just a concert. It is a political event, to be used by Atzmon for his own repugnant ends.

By way of service to Pizza Express, I'm happy to offer them a new marketing slogan which they might want to use:

PIZZA EXPRESS: happy to give a platform to a "truly political artistic project" to "fearlessly fight the zionist brainwashing".

(Oops - I orginally had written Pizza Hut in that last slogan by mistake.)