Homeless in East Jerusalem

On 2 August, Israeli riot and border police evicted two Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem, claiming the land on which their houses were built belongs to Jews.

The court ruling was the result of a Jewish settlers' association claiming there were Jewish inhabitants in the region in the 1930s.

The Real News spoke to the evicted families, and to Stephen Lendman, Research Associate at the Center for Research on Globalization about whether the same could happen to Jewish families.

REFUGE - a new album by the Orient House Ensemble

Our new Album REFUGE is out (in the UK)

1 October 2007

We believe that this is the Orient House Ensemble's finest album (so far)



REFUGE

http://www.gilad.co.uk

To listen to some audio samples

To watch us live (Sky TV Special)

To buy online:

HMV

Amazon.co.uk

BEING IN TIME

When I founded the Orient House Ensemble in 2000, I had just a few tunes in mind, but I also had a great belief. I was sure that music was capable of bringing people together. I was totally convinced that music could heal the wounds of the past. I was sure that music was a message of peace. I was confident that, if rivals could make it into a song, they can easily learn to live together.

Eight years later, I must admit that I may have got it wrong. This is our fifth album. We have performed hundreds of concerts around the world and somehow peace is nowhere near. Every other day a new conflict comes to life. Once a week, a newly born fear is shaped into a sinister agenda wrapped in an image of Western goodness. As far as my homeland is concerned, peace has never looked so far away. The world is indeed becoming more and more hostile.

Yet, we, the Orient House Ensemble, have done something, a thing that has very little cosmic significance. We have learned to sing together. We didn't plan to learn, we didn't educate ourselves. It just grew on us. Over the years our personal fears faded away. Our insecurities melted down. Without realising it, our music made it into a language with some very personal shapes and colours. Music has become our refuge.

I was wrong regarding music as messenger. I was wrong referring to music as an idea or ideology. Music is not a messenger, it is actually the message. Music doesn't belong to man. It is the other way around, man belongs to music. Music speaks itself through man. Music comes into play when thoughts pass away, consciousness disintegrates and ideologies implode. Music is the true Being in Time. Just give it time and let it be.

Enjoy Yourself.

Gilad Atzmon

GILAD ATZMON AND THE ORIENT HOUSE ENSEMBLE

THE REFUGE TOUR
AUTUMN 2007
ALL VENUES

ALBUM REVIEWS

"...this is his bands finest album to date and one that best captures the spirit and vitality of their live shows."
**** Jazzwise Magazine, October 2007


"...The individuality of the music is extraordinary."
**** Alan Brownlee, Manchester Evening News, August 07

".the OHE is one of the most uncontrivedly versatile and unequivocally entertaining jazz units currently operating in the UK"
Chris Parker, The Vortex, September 07


".Gilad Atzmon has earned a reputation as an original and creative musician and composer, and that is apparent again in the eight new compositions here."
***The Scotsman, September 07

".each track on Refuge makes a statement."
**** John L Walters, The Guardian, September 2007

"...See Him Live and Buy His Albums."
****Alan Cross, Amazon, September 2007

".The new album is as passion-filled as ever."
Peter Bacon, Birmingham Post, September 2007

".Atzmon has always been one of the most distinctive saxophonists on the British circuit."
Clive Davis, The Sunday Times, September 07

".a brilliantly navigated combination of gentle, sensitive lyricism and precisely focused passion."
Chris May, All About Jazz, September 07

".the album feels tranquil and meditative.."
Phil Harrison, Time Out, September 07

".Atzmon is an astonishing musician."
John Lewis, Metro, September 07

"Exciting stuff."
Roger Trapp, The Independent September 07

LIVE REVIEWS

".More sophisticated, subtle and varied than anything else I've heard them do and . absolutely overwhelming.If you can possibly see them live, do."
Aaron Broadhurst Blog, St Ives gig Review,September 2007

".He makes a lovely liquid sound and produces beautifully formed rapid roulades with every note clean as a whistle."
Ivan Hewett reviews Gilad Altzmon at Brentwood Theatre, September 07

".his phenomenal musical talent has gained him a sizeable and discerning following.The quality of the music was extraordinary.this was still a memorable and thrilling showcase for the talents of a passionate, intensely focused musician - and one which is unlikely to be forgotten in a hurry by those who attended."
Graham Williams, Live Review, Taliesin Arts Centre, South Wales Evening Post, September 07

For more information about live gigs click here.

Liquidation of Hamas or termination of the right of return

From Henry Lowi, Toronto, Canada:

There is renewed hype about a “peace process”, promoted by the Right Honourable Tony Blair and his friends and the media. The focus is on the exercise of authority of “President” Mahmoud Abbas over ever-smaller bits of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

No one is talking about the leaders of Palestinian political movements (notably Marwan Barghouti and Ahmad Saadat) who are held in Israeli prisons, together with 10,000 other Palestinian prisoners.

No one is talking about stopping the construction of the Wall (aka “security fence”) despite the fact that the World Court declared the Wall’s illegality and required its removal.

No one is talking about Israeli legislation that grants privileges to Jewish citizens, recognized as “racist” and “apartheid” by some well- intentioned and outspoken Israelis.

No one is talking about Israeli persecution of pro-democracy activists like former Member of the Knesset Dr Azmi Bishara and anti-nuclear activists like Mordechai Vanunu.

And no one is talking about nearly 5 million Palestine refugees, exiles, “present absentees”, and their descendants, whose rights are at the heart of the conflict, and without whom no “peace process” has any chance of success.

With this in mind I am RE-SENDING Adel Samara's February 2006 article on "Liquidation of Hamas or termination of the right of return".