As one may imagine, the Zionist operators in Britain are not happy about the meeting at all: a Zionist anti-BDS campaign group  launched an immediate campaign, soon after the announcement of the panel. Far from being surprising, within hours, they were .

The original panel was supposed to include John Rose, Ghada Karmi, Alan Hart and myself.

The venue as well as the panelists (except myself funnily enough) came under severe pressure that verged on abuse: One of the panelists admitted to the organizers that he had received 12 phone calls from different Jewish ‘anti-Zionist’ activists, who insisted that -- ‘for the sake of Palestine’-- no one should share a stage with Gilad Atzmon.

Now, interestingly enough, when I asked the panelist whether any Palestinians had actually called to preach for the ‘sake of Palestine’ -- the answer was a resounding negative. I guess that Jewish ‘anti Zionists’ know better than everyone what is good for Palestine, they are chosen after all.

John Rose and Ghada Karmi pulled out, and that is understandable: not many can endure such a level of abuse – as we learned recently, Judge Goldstone has also surrendered, and by doing so, has severely damaged his credibility and reputation.

In the early days I myself struggled a lot: on a daily basis I would hear from one ‘progressive’ Jew or another who I should like and who I should hate. Being a rebel, I never followed any of these ‘instructions’. It took me years to develop a very thick skin, to believe in myself and to believe in ethical thinking. And, having done so, I am now happier and free, and I continue in the spirit of humanism and resistance.

Resisting Zionist tactics then, the organizers of the event and the venue are undeterred, standing strong, and determined to continue with the original plan: A list of Palestinian intellectuals and journalists stepped immediately in place of Ghada and John. I advised the organizers not to publish their names for the time being, simply to save them from the unnecessary irritation, annoyance and abuse. However, I myself made sure that they are fully aware of the possible trouble ahead.

This event is promising to be a turning point -- The relentless attempts by Jewish political bodies to gate-keep the discourse needs to be confronted and exposed.

And I guess that what we see here proves beyond doubt my arguments regarding the duplicity that is tragically manifested all too often by different bodies and individuals within the Jewish ‘anti-Zionist’ network. Come and support freedom and intellectual exchange.