An alleged anti-Semitic musician claims he played at Islington Assembly Hall disguised as Santa Clause despite the council spending £136,000 to defend a ban blocking him from performing.
After revealing the extent of expenditure last week, which Gilad Atzmon called “beyond pathetic”, Islington Now has since seen a blog post from the saxophonist that says he performed “in disguise”.
Islington Council spent £136,000 to defend ban on alleged anti-Semite
“Santa’s performance at the Assembly Hall was first-rate, but the Jewish pressure groups remain upset. They are convinced that Santa was Atzmon in disguise,” read the post.
Mr Atzmon also joked: “Santa was a quick learner. He figured out how to bend the notes, Atzmon style. He learned my runs and twists. He even learned how to shake his legs against the beat as the solo progressed towards the peak. At a certain stage, I was a bit miffed, it seemed Santa.”
Mr Atzmon, 55, was banned after concert-goers complained to the council over controversial comments he had made about Israel and the Jewish community, decrying what he called “Jewish identity politics”.
Mr Atzmon told Islington Now the legal dispute has not yet been resolved, meaning the council is likely to fork out another “three to four hundred thousand pounds”.
Islington Council previously said in a statement: “Mr Atzmon’s views are widely considered to be anti-Semitic. Under the Equality Act 2010, the Council must, in the exercise of its functions, have due regard to the need to foster good relations between different races and religions within the borough.”
“The council was required to deal with all of these and needed to take the legal steps necessary to prepare and defend itself.”
Mr Atzmon said: “I’m not an anti-Semite. I was playing with Jews in the band”.
Islington Council gave no further comment.
