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Ma'ariv: "Occupation is Not an Act" by Yariv Oppenheimer, Peace Now Secretary General

'Stop the Show' Protest Poster with Caption2 186x140.jpg"The unfortunate decision of the theater managers to export the finest plays being staged in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Beer Sheva to none other than the largest settlement built by Israel--caused a courageous group of artists and actors to stand up for their principles and refuse to perform in the territories."

Following the op ed is: 

Ha'aretz: "Netanyahu: State should not fund any theater that boycotts Ariel"

Ma'ariv: "The Lecturers' Boycott"

Walla: "Oz, Yehoshua and Grossman Support Theater Workers' Protest"


(Picture is from the Peace Now poster for the rally in support of the actors)

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Ladies and gentlemen, for one moment the play stopped, for one moment the masks were taken off the Israeli occupation, and for one moment there were people who stood up and called loudly: The emperor has no clothes. The unfortunate decision of the theater managers to export the finest plays being staged in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Beer Sheva to none other than the largest settlement built by Israel--caused a courageous group of artists and actors to stand up for their principles and refuse to perform in the territories.

At a time when a majority of Israel's artists have made their peace with the situation and dedicated themselves to popular struggles on behalf of animals and against air pollution, the theater actors and playwrights decided not to take part in the process of normalizing the occupation and opted to refrain from performing in settlements over the Green Line. Even if the grass at the entrance to Ariel is green, and the auditorium in the major settlement is laid with marble and fully air conditioned, this show must not go on and the occupation cannot and must not be swept under the rows of seats.

For years, the State of Israel has been trying to go on with the show and ignore the fact that the West Bank is occupied territory. The regional councils in the territories continue to market themselves as if they were part of the democratic State of Israel. Performances of top artists, family tours and setting up tourist centers as part of the attempt to create a virtual reality that ignores the situation on the ground. In an attempt to legitimize the occupation and give further legitimization to the establishment of Ariel, the settlers decided, with the encouragement of the government, to set up a college in the city that in the future would become a university. In the classrooms, the students can learn about values such as equality, national fulfillment, democracy and justice--while the students could see the complete opposite of all these if they would only look out the window at the Palestinian villages around them.

The right wing campaign for the legitimacy of the settlements even made its way into the weather forecast maps on television. Following the settlers' pressure, the television channels agreed to start including Ariel in the forecast map. But all this does not change the facts on the ground one bit: Ariel, like about 140 other settlements, was established on territory that was never annexed to the State of Israel, and the laws of occupation apply to it, which mean active control of 3.5 million Palestinians and denying their rights as citizens.

The clear statement by the theater actors must remind every citizen, particularly those who are considering moving over the Green Line for reasons of land prices or "quality of life," that until an agreement is signed with the Palestinians, all of the settlements--blocs and settlement outposts, isolated and near--are located on occupied land (according to Israeli law as well), and democracy is enjoyed by the settlers only.

The choice of the actors not to perform in Ariel, like the choice of many others not to cross the Green Line, does not stem from hatred of the settlers or from taking a political stance. Until they were asked to take an active step and perform under the auspices of the Israeli occupation, most of the artists who signed the letter chose to focus on their work and not to take advantage of their standing for the purpose of any political statement. But when theater managers demand that the artists act and perform on the stage of the settlements, it is their right and their obligation to refuse and remain faithful to their principles, and not to take part in normalization of the occupation.

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Ha'aretz: "Netanyahu: State should not fund any theater that boycotts Ariel"

By Barak Ravid, Chaim Levinson, Jonathan Lis and Noah Kosharek

After a weekend of mutual recriminations between supporters and opponents, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu weighed in yesterday on the battle over plans for Israeli repertory theater companies to perform in the new cultural center in the West Bank settlement of Ariel. Netanyahu condemned the 53 actors, playwrights and directors who signed a petition vowing not to perform in the city, telling cabinet ministers that the state should not fund cultural institutions trying to foment a "boycott from within."

Netanyahu drew a comparison between what he called the "international deligitimization assault" on Israel and the boycott proposed by those who had signed the petition. "The last thing we need during this assault is an internal attempt to wage boycotts," he said. "I don't want to minimize the right of every individual, and every artist, to hold political views. He may express his viewpoint, but we in the government must not fund boycotts of Israeli citizens nor support them in any way."

Yesterday four actors with Tel Aviv's Cameri Theater - Irit Kaplan, Dror Keren, Ola Schur-Selektar and Alon Dahan - removed their names from the petition and said they would perform in Ariel if asked.

Kaplan told Haaretz yesterday, "I removed my signature halfheartedly, because I began having qualms about my obligations to a public institution." Keren went one step further, sending a letter to Cameri head Noam Semel condemning the petition, while affirming that he would rather not perform in Ariel. "I never, repeat, never, signed a petition calling for boycotting someone, and I never will. We stopped doing 'boycotts' in third grade. I don't believe in boycotts or sweeping condemnations," Keren said.

'We will perform in Ariel, period'

Semel said that Cameri's contract with the Ariel cultural center stipulated that in the event an actor refused to perform the theater would either try to replace them or cancel the performance. In the event of cancelation, Cameri would not be liable for damages. "We inserted that clause on the assumption that it's possible that one or two actors would refuse. This is, after all, a unique performance," Semel said.

He added that of the Cameri's 150 actors, musicians and other theater professionals, only four or five had signed the petition, and that should issues arise with actors refusing to perform, "We'll deal with the problem by either trying to persuade him or her to perform, or by finding a replacement. The Cameri will appear in Ariel - period."

The director of Tel Aviv's Habima National Theater, Odelia Friedman, said that only one actor in her organization had signed the petition, but that he had not told the theater management that he refused to perform in Ariel. Should one or more actors refuse to perform in the city, she said, "We'll deal with it. I've submitted a list of questions to the theater's legal advisers, and all of the legal ramifications have been examined. As early as Wednesday, Habima said unequivocally that it would perform in Ariel."

Shmulik Yifrah, director of the Be'er Sheva Theatre, said, "We, as a theater, will go anywhere we're invited. If we're invited to Ramallah or Nablus we'd be happy to appear there." Yifrah said that until now no actors had come forth to say they were unwilling to perform in Ariel.

Meretz and Peace Now are planning to demonstrate today in solidarity with the signatories to the petition. On Thursday the Knesset Education Committee will hold a special session on the issue.

Meretz chairmain MK Haim Oron said yesterday that the committee must be convened immediately to discuss "the wild, crass tongue-lashing unleashed at theater actors who refuse to perform in settlements."

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/netanyahu-state-should-not-fund-any-theater-that-boycotts-ariel-1.310939

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Aug. 31
 
Ma'ariv: "The Lecturers' Boycott"
 
Ma'ariv (p. 8) by Efrat Zemer-Bronfman -- The theater people who signed a letter declaring that they would not appear in plays performed at the Ariel cultural center yesterday received support from people who are accustomed to being at the center of political controversy: members of the academia.
 
  About 130 lecturers from several universities yesterday signed a petition expressing support for the letter of the theater people, and announcing that they too would not attend lectures or cultural events beyond the Green Line. "We join the members of theater people and announce that we will not take part in cultural activity of any sort in any settlement beyond the Green Line, we will not be part of discussions or seminars and will not lecture in any academic framework in these settlements," states the petition which is being disseminated by means of various internet forums and email. "We wish to remind the public that like all other settlements, Ariel is in occupied territory and is not part of the sovereign State of Israel. If, in the future, in the framework of a peace agreement signed with the PA, Ariel is inside the state's borders, it will be like any other community."
 
  The letter is signed by a number of prominent academics, such as Prof. Zeev Sternhell, his daughter Dr. Yael Sternhell, Prof. Shlomo Zand, Dr. Orit Kamir, Prof. Hava Yablonka, Prof. Nissim Kalderon, Prof. Yaron Ezrahi, Prof. Miri Eliav-Feldon, Israel Prize laureate Judd Neeman, Dr. Niv Gordon from Ben-Gurion University, who in the past received death threats after calling to boycott Israel in an article he published in the US, and more.
 
  Prof. Yaron Ezrahi says that the petition is also linked to the various recent political commotions in the academic world. "There is an attempt to intimidate people of the arts and sciences and that is what I am outraged about, and that is why I signed," said Ezrahi. "I have never lectured in the occupied territories but this is not a reason not to say this publicly. There is no question that now is the time for a public debate. I think that anyone who lectures in this place is not only breaking the law, but also the principles that are the basis of academia."
 
  It was reported yesterday that several novelists had joined the petition, including A.B. Yehoshua, David Grossman and Amos Oz.
 
  About 300 people gathered yesterday outside the Habima Theater in Tel Aviv to take part in a demonstration that was organized by Peace Now in support of the playwrights, actors and theater workers who refuse to appear at the new cultural center in Ariel.
 
  Despite threats from the right wing to cancel subscriptions and boycott theaters, so far there have been few cancellations. "A few dozen angry people called," says Efrat Livne Avraham, the spokesman for the Cameri Theater, "we understand the anger and pain, but there have not been waves of protest or cancellations."
 
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Aug. 31
 
Walla: "Oz, Yehoshua and Grossman Support Theater Workers' Protest"
 
Walla.co.il (online service) by Ariel Karil -- A new petition signed by artists who are not from the theater was put out yesterday in which the signatories express their support and solidarity with the actors and playwrights who signed the first letter.
 
  Among them are Israel's topmost writers such as Amos Oz, A.B. Yehoshua, David Grossman and Sami Michael. Israel Prize laureates Danny Caravan and David Tratkover also appended their signatures as did cinematographers Doron Tzabari, Hagi Levy and Rani Blair.
 
  The petition is entitled "the show does not have to go on" and it states: "We the undersigned express support and solidarity with the theater workers who refuse to appear in Ariel. The freedom of creation and the freedom of opinion are the foundations of a free and democratic society. A short while ago we marked 43 years to the Israeli occupation. Giving legitimacy to the settlement enterprise and accepting it mortally damage Israel's chances of reaching a peace agreement with its Palestinian neighbors." [...]
 
  In a demonstration yesterday outside the Habima Theater in Tel Aviv, Peace Now Secretary General Yariv Oppenheimer said: "woe to a country that legally obliges its artists to appear against their conscience. Not all of the people of Israel wish to participate in the settlement festival."
 
  MK Dov Hanin (Hadash), who attended the demonstration, said "Israeli theater is not and will not be a puppet theater. It is a theater of people who think logically and independently and who have a conscience."