Israeli Actors Boycott West Bank Theatre, U.S. Actors
Support Their Boycott
 

1. U.S. actors back Israeli boycott of West Bank theater
   (Haaretz (Israel) news story)

2. Israeli Actors to Boycott New West Bank Theatre
	60 actors, writers and directors argue that
	performing in occupied territories would legitimise
	illegal settlements
   (Guardian (UK) news story)

3. Making history: support for Israeli artists who say NO to
   normalizing settlements - full listing of U.S. signers
   (Jewish Voice for Peace)

==========

U.S. actors back Israeli boycott of West Bank theater

	More than 150 American actors, writers, directors
	and other artists sign letter of support for the
	Israeli actors who said they would not perform in
	Ariel.

By Chaim Levinson

Haaretz.com

September 06, 2010  - Elul 27, 5770

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/u-s-actors-back-israeli-boycott-of-west-bank-theater-1.312393


More than 150 American actors, writers, directors and other
artists signed a letter of support for the Israeli actors
who declared they would not perform in the West Bank.

The American signatories include Cynthia Nixon, who plays
Miranda on "Sex and the City"; Mandy Patinkin, who played
Inigo Montoya in "The Princess Bride"; and character actor
and writer Wallace Shawn, who played the principal in
"Clueless."

Ten days ago, the Israeli actors caused a storm when they
released a petition stating they would not perform in the
West Bank. Their move was prompted by reports that the
theater companies were planning performances at the new
cultural center in Ariel.

The American letter calls the Israelis' refusal brave, notes
that Ariel is one of the largest settlements in the West
Bank and calls it illegal by any standard.

The signatories said that most of them faced daily
compromises with things they found unacceptable, and that
when a group of people decided they would make no more
compromises and found the strength to refuse, this inspired
them and filled them with hope.

The American artists were moved to know the Israelis had
refused to allow their work to become part of what they
called making the cruel occupation normal and accepted, they
said in the letter. The occupation is an obstacle to hope
and a just and sustainable peace for Israelis and
Palestinians, they added.

The signatories said the Israeli artists' decision should be
appreciated by those who seek justice around the world.

The letter made waves in the artistic community in the
United States. On Friday, several actors called the Israeli
Consulate to ask what they should do, and were advised by
the cultural attache not to interfere in internal Israeli
affairs, Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

Wallace Shawn told Haaretz on Sunday that the Israeli
artists' refusal had touched him. They did something that
could get them fired, and he found that inspiring, he said.
Theater is the art of truth, and the Israeli artists are
following their own truth, he said.

If they were to appear in Ariel they would be legitimizing
something they do not agree with, said Shawn. If they do
lose their jobs as a result of their stand, the world is
watching and people will support them, he said.

==========

Israeli Actors to Boycott New West Bank Theatre

	60 actors, writers and directors argue that
	performing in occupied territories would legitimise
	illegal settlements

by Harriet Sherwood

The Guardian (UK)

August 30, 2010

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/29/actors-boycott-west-bank-theatre

Dozens of Israeli actors, playwrights and directors have
signed a letter refusing to take part in productions by
leading theatre companies at a new cultural centre in a West
Bank settlement, prompting renewed debate over the
legitimacy of artistic boycott.

More than 60 have joined the protest over plans by Israel's
national theatre, the Habima, and other leading companies to
stage performances in Ariel, a settlement 12 miles inside
the West Bank. The letter, to Israel's culture minister,
Limor Livnat, says the new centre for performing arts in
Ariel, which is due to open in November after 20 years in
construction, would "strengthen the settlement enterprise".

"We want to express our dismay with the intention of the
theatres' managements to perform in the new auditorium in
Ariel and hereby declare that we will refuse to perform in
the city, as in any other settlement." Israel's theatre
companies should "pursue their prolific activity inside the
sovereign territory of the state of Israel within the
boundaries of the Green Line".

Livnat said the boycott would cause divisions in Israeli
society: "Culture is a bridge in society, and political
disputes should be left outside cultural life and art. I
call for the scheduled performances to be carried out as
scheduled in Ariel and all over the country, as each citizen
has the right to consume culture anywhere he chooses."

Israel's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, said the
country was under attack by the international community -
including economic, academic and cultural boycotts - and
"the last thing we need at this time ... is a boycott from
within".

The Habima, Cameri, Beit Lessin and Be'er Shiva theatre
companies issued a joint defence of their plans, saying they
"will perform in any place where there are theatre-loving
Israelis, including the new cultural centre in Ariel. We
respect the political views of our actors, but we'll make
sure that the best of Israeli theatre will get to Ariel".
The four companies, plus another two - the Khan and the
Haifa - which have also agreed to stage productions in
Ariel, all receive state funding.

Ron Nachman, the mayor of Ariel, said: "These actors get
salaries from the government, which is sponsoring their
theatres. You cannot take the money from the government and
then decide your own policies. That is not integrity or
honesty. If they disagree [with performing in Ariel], they
should resign."

It was not clear how many of the signatories were listed for
planned performances in Ariel. Yousef Swaid, who is
appearing in A Railway To Damascus, a production scheduled
to be staged in Ariel, told Channel 1 television: "Settlers
and settlements are not something that entertain me, and I
don't want to entertain them." Rami Heuberger, who is not
listed, said: "As a stage actor, it is a very, very
problematic issue, and I think that so long as settlements
are a controversial issue that will be discussed in any
negotiations [with the Palestinians], I should not be
there."

Gideon Levy, a leading liberal Israeli commentator, backed
the actors' stance. "Yes, there is a difference between
legitimate, sovereign Israel and the areas of its
occupation," he wrote in today's Haaretz, which first
reported the story. ". "Yes, there is a moral difference
between appearing here and appearing there in the heart of
an illegal settlement ... built on a plot of stolen land, in
a performance designed to help settlers pass their time
pleasantly, while surrounded by people who have been
deprived of all their rights."

The Yesha Council, which represents settlers, said the
actors' letter had been signed by "army evaders and anti-
Zionist leftwing activists".

The actors' letter follows the refusal of some international
artists to perform in Israel because of its occupation of
the Palestinian territories. Earlier this summer, Elvis
Costello cancelled concerts in Israel, citing the
"intimidation, humiliation or much worse on Palestinian
civilians in the name of national security". The Pixies, Gil
Scott Heron, Santana and Klaxons have also withdrawn from
performances.

Ariel, home to almost 20,000 people, was founded in 1978
deep in the West Bank. Israel wants it to remain on its side
of any border resulting from peace negotiations with the
Palestinians. All settlements on occupied territory are
illegal under international law.

==========

Making history: support for Israeli artists who say NO to
normalizing settlements

September 6, 2010

http://jvp.org/campaigns/making-history-support-israeli-artists-who-say-no-normalizing-settlements-4

When some 60 leading Israeli actors and playwrights signed a
letter stating they would refuse to play in the new theatre
in Ariel, one of Israel's largest settlements, the attacks
from Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel's Minister of Culture
and Sport and many others were swift and intense. Over 150
leading Israeli academics and writers-including Amos Oz and
David Grossman- came to their defense. It was the first time
such mainstream figures had drawn a line around normalizing
settlements which are illegal according to international
law, and which constitute one of the main impediments to a
lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Inspired by their courage, and responding to a call for
international support, Jewish Voice for Peace has developed
a statement that has been signed by over 150 theater and
film professionals representing some of the most respected
and renowned artists in theater, film and television -
including Four Pulitzer Prize winners, several recipients of
Guggenheim Fellowships, a MacArthur Fellowship, a National
Medal of Honor, and scores of recipients of the highest U.S.
acting honors, including Tony Awards, Emmy Awards, Grammy
Awards, Obie Awards, Drama Desk Awards, and the Oscar.

Rebecca Vilkomerson ([log in to unmask]), Executive Director of
Jewish Voice for Peace: "The response of American and UK
artists to the courageous actions of their Israeli
counterparts is just phenomenal. It is especially notable
that so many of the signatories are Jewish with long-
standing connections to Israel. We hope that the strong show
of solidarity by Americans and UK actors in response to
these brave Israelis will help spark a new conversation in
both countries, one that acknowledges that the Jewish
settlements in the occupied territories are illegal by every
measure of international law, contribute to the daily
violation of human rights of Palestinians, and are a major
obstacle to a just peace in the region."

Text of the statement:

On August 27th, dozens of Israeli actors, directors, and
playwrights made the brave decision not to perform in Ariel,
one of the largest of the West Bank settlements, which by
all standards of international law are clearly illegal.  As
American actors, directors, critics and playwrights, we
salute our Israeli counterparts for their courageous
decision.

Most of us are involved in daily compromises with wrongful
acts. When a group of people suddenly have the clarity of
mind to see that the next compromise looming up before them
is an unbearable one  -- and when they somehow find the
strength to refuse to cross that line  --  we can't help but
be overjoyed and inspired and grateful.

It's thrilling to think that these Israeli theatre artists
have refused to allow their work to be used to normalize a
cruel occupation which they know to be wrong, which violates
international law and which is impeding the hope for a just
and lasting peace for Israelis an Palestinians alike.
They've made a wonderful decision, and they deserve the
respect of people everywhere who dream of justice. We stand
with them.

*Statement organizers and signatories represent a wide range
of political opinions and perspectives, but have come
together for the sole purpose of making a joint statement on
this one critical issue.
**All identifications and affiliations are for
identification purposes only and do not imply endorsements
by any institutions

Ed Asner
Actor
8 time Emmy award Winner (more than any other male actor);
Former president Screen Actors Guild, lead voice in Pixar's
Up, Mary Tyler Moore

Theodore Bikel
Actor, Folk Singer, Musician
Co-founder of the Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv; president of
the Associated Actors and Artistes of America; Academy Award
nominee; Tony Award nominee; actor in film, TV and theater;
vocalist

Eve Ensler
Playwright, preformer
The Vagina Monologues; Obie Award winner; Guggenheim
Fellowship

Tony Kushner
Playwright; Screenwriter;
Pulitzer Prize winner for Angels in America; Tony Award
winner; Emmy Award winner; Drama Desk Award winner; Was
nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award; Co-
author of Munich

Miriam Margolyes
Actor
Portrayed Professor Sprout in Harry Potter; BAFTA Winner

Cynthia Nixon
Actress
Portrayed Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series Sex and the City;
Emmy, Tony and Grammy Award-winning actress

Mandy Patinkin
Actor, Vocalist
Actor in Yentl, the Princess Bride (portrayed Inigo
Montoya), Sunday in the Park with George; Vocalist,
(Mamaloshen), Tony Award winner

Harold Prince
Director, Producer,
21 Tony Awards winner (Pajama Game, Cabaret, West Side
Story, Sweeney Todd, Evita, Phantom of the Opera), National
Medal of the Arts Recipient

Vanessa Redgrave
actress
The only British actress to ever have won the Oscar, Emmy,
Tony, Canes, Golden Globe and the Screen Actors Guild
awards; Mission: Impossible, Mary Queen of Scots, Atonement.

James Schamus
Producer, Screenwriter, Film Historian
BAFTA Award Winner; producer of Brokeback Mountain, co-
writer and producer of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The
Ice Storm, Eat Drink Man Woman, Academy Award nominee, CEO
Focus Features

Wallace Shawn
Actor, Playwright, Translator
Actor in Princess Bride (portrayed Vizzini) My Dinner With
Andre, Vanya on 42nd St; playwright of The Fever, The
Designated Mourner; translator of Three Penny Opera by
Bertoldt Brecht

Jennifer Tilly
Actress
Portrayed Olive Neal in Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway,
Fabulous Baker Boys, Liar Liar, Bound; Academy Award Nominee

Liz Diamond
Scholar
Chair, Directing Dept., Yale School of Drama

Andre Gregory
Actor, Director
My Dinner With Andre

Lynn Nottage
Playwright
Winner of 2009 Pulitzer Prize; winner of 2007 MacArthur
Genius Award

Sheldon Harnick
Lyricist
Pulitzer Prize Winner, Fiddler on the Roof, Tony Award
Winner

Paula Vogel
Playwright, Scholar
Pulitzer Prize Winner, Eugene O'Neill Chair, Playwriting
Department -Yale School of Drama

Bill Irwin
Actor, Mime, Choreographer
Winner two Tony Awards ;Winner of the National Endowment for
the Arts Choreographer's Fellowship; Guggenheim, Fulbright
and MacArthur Fellowships

Sarah Schulman
Novelist; Playwright

David Adjmi
Playwright
Steinberg Playwright Award, the Bush Artists Fellowship, and
the Kesselring Fellowship for Drama, named in the New Yorker
as up and coming playwright

Najla Said
Actor, Playwright
Daughter of Edward Said; "Palestine," Her one-woman Off
Broadway play is a coming-of-age story about Ms. Said's
journey to become an Arab-American on her own terms.

James Bundy
Dean, Yale School of Drama;  Artistic Director, Yale
Repertory Theatre

Kathleen Chalfant
Actor
Obie Award Winner, Drama Desk Winner, Tony Award Nominee

Ruth Reichl
writer; PBS Television host
former restaurant critic, NYTimes, former editor in chief,
Gourmet magazine, PBS television series host, memoirist

Edward Einhorn
Director, Playwright, Novelist, Executive Director of the
Association of Jewish Theatre

Oskar Eustis
Artistic Director, The Public Theater

Deborah Eisenberg
Playwright, Author, Actor, MacArthur Fellow

Bruce Allardice
Managing Director
Ping Chong & Co.

Philip Arnoult
Director, Center for International Theatre Development
(CITD)

Anthony Arnove
Author and Editor
Co-Directed (with Howard Zinn and Chris Moore) and Executive
Produced "The People Speak (film)

Caron Atlas
Cultural Organizer and Consultant
Founding director of the American Festival Project, a
national coalition of activist artists

Arthur Aviles
Artistic Director
Artistic Director, The Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance,
Arthur Aviles Typical Theatre

David Barlow
Actor, Writer, Performance Artist

Laura Barnett
Theater Educator, Performance Artist, Director

George Bartenieff
Actor
Obie Award Winner

Mark Barton
Lighting Designer

John Bell
Director
Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, Puppeteer,
Scholar, Great Small Works.

Melia Bensussen
Director
Obie Award Winning Director; Chair of Emerson College
Department of Performing Arts

Eric Bentley
Theatre scholar, critic, author, playwright, editor and
translator

Theodore S. Berger
Executive Director of the New York Foundation for the Arts
for thirty years

Susan Bernfield
Artistic Director, New Georges

Philip Bither
Senior curator, Walker Arts Center

Linda Chapman
Associate Artistic Director, New York Theatre Workshop

Rachel Chavkin
Director; Founder and Artistic director of the TEAM (the
Theater of the Emerging American Moment)

Trudi Cohen
Puppeteer, Theater Artist
Great Small Works

Kia Corthron
Playwright

Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas
Playwright

Clare Coss
Playwright

Alex Courtney
Stage, Film and Television Actor

Tim Cusack
Artistic Director, Theatre Askew

Savitri D.
Director
The Church of Life After Shopping

Matthew Dellapina
Actor

Ivor Dembina
Comedian

David J. Diamond
Theatre consultant, Producer

Elin Diamond
Critic, Scholar

Sally Eberhardt
Theatres Against War (THAW)

John Clinton Eisner
Artistic Director, Lark Play Development Center

Bertie Ferdman, Ph.D.
Artistic Director, ExPgirl; Theatre Artist, Curator,
Producer, Educator

Corey Fischer
Actor, Playwright
Playwright of See Under: Love; co-founder of the Traveling
Jewish Theater,(now the Jewish Theater San Francisco)

Elinor Fuchs
Critic; Scholar, Yale School of Drama

Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros
Playwright
2004 finalist, Pulitzer Prize for Drama

Adam Greenfield
Director of New Play Development, Playwright Horizons

David Greenspan
Actor, Award-Winning Playwright

Kathryn Grody
Actor; Writer
Obie Award Winner

Jason Grote
Playwright, Screenwriter

Del Hamilton
co-Founder and Artistic Director, 7 Stages

Karen Hartman
Playwright

David Herskovits
Founder and Artistic Director, Target Margin Theater

Joan Holden
Award-Winning Playwright

Jeffrey Horowitz
Founder and Artistic Director, Theater for a New Audience
Advisory Board of The Shakespeare Society and Artistic
Directorate of London's Globe Theatre, Artistic Advisor to
the Shakespeare Globe Centre (USA).

Holly Hughes
Performance Artist, Guggenheim Fellow
One of the "NEA 4", whose funding was vetoed for gay content

Birgit Huppuch
Actor

Julia Jarcho
Playwright, Director, Performer

Morgan Jenness
Dramaturge

John Jesurun
Writer, Director, Multi-Media Artist

Jeffrey M. Jones
Playwright, Curator -
Little Theatre @ Dixon Place, Pataphysics @ The Flea

Melanie Joseph
Artistic Producer
The Foundry Theatre

Chris Kam
Independent Producer

Stephen Kaplin
Puppeteer, Theater Designer/Performer
Great Small Works and Chinese Theatre Works

Melissa Kievman
Director

Josh Kornbluth
Monologist

Aaron Landsman
Independent Artist

Paul Lazar
Co-Artistic Director Big Dance Theater

Herbert Leibowitz
Writer and Editor

Maxinne Rhea Leighton
Author

Robert H. Leonard
Director, Professor, Department of Theatre Arts, Virginia
Tech

Gideon Lester
Dramaturge and Curator
Former associate artistic director, American Repertory
Theatre; former Acting Artistic Director, American Repertory
Theatre

Roberta Levitow
Co-Founder, Theatre Without Borders

Irene Lewis
Artistic Director
Center Stage, Baltimore, Maryland

Ethan Lipton
Playwright

Casey Llewellyn
Theater Artist

Quincy Long
Playwright

John Carroll Lynch
Actor

Kirk Lynn
Co-Producing Artistic Director
Rude Mechs, Austin, TX

Matthew Maguire
Co-Artistic Director, Creation Production Company

Matthew Maher
Actor

Judith Malina
Actor Director
Founder and Artistic Director, The Living Theatre

Karen Malpede
Playwright, Theater Three Collaborative

Nina Mankin
Dramaturge, Writer

Emily Mann
Artistic Director/Playwright
McCarter Theatre Center, Princeton, NJ

Deborah Margolin
Playwright, Actor, Scholar

Vijay Mathew
Co-Director, American Voices New Play Institute

Marin Mazzie
Actress, Singer

Ellen McLaughlin
Playwright; Actor

Erin Mee
Director, Scholar
Swarthmore theater arts professor

Greg Mehrten
Actor, Director, Writer

David Michalek
Artist, Photographer
Visiting Faculty Member - Yale Divinity School

Tyler Micoleau
Lighting Designer

Tim Miller
Performance Artist
One of the "NEA 4", whose funding was vetoed for gay content

Jennifer Miller
Performance Artist, director
Founder and Artistic Director of Circus Amok

Steve Moore
Artistic Director
Physical Plant Theater

Susan Mosakowski
Playwright
Co-Artistic Director Creation Production Company

David Moscow
Actor

Erika Munk
Critic, Professor
Yale School of Drama, theater critic

Tom Nelis
Actor

Jim Nicola
Artistic Director
New York Theatre Workshop

Annie-B Parson
Director
Co-Founder, Artistic director Big Dance Theater, NYFA and
Guggenheim Fellow

Sally Ann Parsons
Costumer, Craftsman, Designer

Shailja Patel
Sundance Theatre Fellow 2010

Katie Pearl
Director

Sybille Pearson
Playwright
Rockefeller Playwrights Fellowship; founding member of The
Playwrights Circle at The New York Theatre Workshop; an
Artistic Resident at the Vineyard Theater

Ralph Pena
Artistic Director, Ma Yi Theater

Carla Peterson
Director
Artistic Director, Dance Theater Workshop

Brian Pickett
Theater Artist and Educator
Member Steering Committee - Theaters Against War (THAW)

Catherine Porter
Director
Co-Artistic Director Peculiar Works Project, Obie Award
Winner

Reno
Comedian

Gordon Rogoff
Theater Critic; Director; Professor of Theater
Yale School of Drama; Obie Award Winner

Jenny Romaine
Puppeteer, Theater Artist
Great Small Works

Avital Ronell
Writer, Academic, Literary Critic

Ken Rus Schmoll
Director

Brian H. Scott
Theatrical Designer

Regine Anna Seckinger, Ph.D.
Advisory Board Member, Rude Mechanicals, Austin, TX

Jamil Shamasdin
Actor

Peggy Shaw
Performance Artist, Actor, Playwright

Christopher Shinn
Playwright,
Obie Award Winner, Guggenheim Fellow

Jeanmarie Simpson
Theatre/Film Artist

Michael Singer
Television News Producer
Former producer, CBS News

Alisa Solomon
Theater Critic
Director of Arts Concentration, School of Journalism,
Columbia

Bonnie Stein
Performing Arts Administrator, Manager, Project Producer and
Coordinator, Executive Director
GOH Productions

Kris Stone
Stage Designer

Mark Sussman
Scholar, Puppeteer Director.
Great Small Works; Concordia University

Caridad Svich
Playwright, Songwriter, Translator, Editor

Bill Talen
Director
The Church of Life After Shopping

Kathleen Tolan
Playwright, Actor

Basil Twist
Puppeteer
Obie Award Winner

Charlie Varon
Playwright, Performer

Naomi Wallace
Playwright, Screenwriter

Anne Washburn
Playwright
Guggenheim Fellow

Donya K. Washington
Director

Stephen Webber
Actor

Brenda Wehle
Actor

Mac Wellman
Playwright, Author, Poet, Scholar
Donald I. Fine Professor of Play writing at Brooklyn College

Anabelle Winograd
Writer, Critic, Educator

Eunice Wong
Actor

Kristina Wong
Award-Wnning Solo Performer and Writer.

Susan Yankowitz
Award-Winning Playwright and Librettist

David Zellnick
Playwright, Screenwriter, Lyricist

==========

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