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."