Changing the world, one play at a time: Israeli/Palestinian
Play Festival at Philadelphia’s Interact Theatre
Although Philadelphia is separated from Jerusalem by 9313 kilometers (or 5787 miles), in the city
of Brotherly Love feelings still run high among Jewish-Americans on Israeli-Palestinian
issues. The Interact Theatre, under Artistic
Director Seth Rozin, which aims to “change the world, one play at a time,” presented free staged readings of four plays
(see below) and a panel discussion as part of the Israeli-Palestinian Theatre
Festival, all centered around the world
premiere of Larry Loebell’s House,
Divided.
While House, Divided received outstanding
reviews and large audiences, many in the Philadelphia Jewish Community seem
skeptical vis-à-vis Palestinian-Israeli dialogues. However, no event brought in
more people than the reading of My Name
is Rachel Corrie, delivered with a wide-range of feelings and a powerful
sense of humanity by Philadelphia actress Julianna Zinkel. Corrie, who acknowledged the suffering of
Jewish people, also wrote, “The scariest thing for non-Jewish Americans in
talking about Palestinian self-determination is the fear of being or sounding
anti-Semitic. [. . . .] but I think it’s important to draw a firm distinction
between the policies of Israel as a state and Jewish people.”
Corrie’s story found
resonance during the panel discussion, which featured Rosie Greenberg, a young
Jewish woman and daughter of a rabbi who went to Israel with Birthright, stayed with an
ultra-Orthodox family in Jerusalem for one month, and then lived with a
Palestinian family for two months. As a
result of these experiences, she said she felt strengthened in her Jewish heritage;
however, like Corrie, she identified with Palestinians and clearly distinguished
between Israeli state policies and Jewish people who reach out and search for
peaceful solutions.
The reading and the
panel prompted a great deal of discussion among panel members and from the
audience. Several older people present
told me that they were very skeptical and had heard negative things about the
diary of Rachel Corrie. However, they
admitted that they were deeply moved and even cried, but most of all,
recognized that there needs to be more dialogue.
Panelist Rabbi Nancy
Fuchs Kreimer said that Jewish people have been oppressed for over 2000
years and were always the victims, people without any power. However, since 1948, things have changed
dramatically, and Israelis now struggle with a human use of power and
force. She added that these conflicts
have fractured Jewish communities, and that even within Jewish families, the
rifts can run very deep, well illustrated by Interact’s production of Loebell’s
play.
Responding to her
comments, one person present compared the treatment of Palestinians to that of
Native Americans, who were deprived of their land and their rights. Another audience member offered a litmus test
for learning and understanding, explaining that putting oneself into the
position of the other can create a shift in perspective, where dialogue and
more creative solutions can evolve. The
Rabbi concluded the panel by encouraging everyone to read Israeli books and
newspapers, including Haaretz, and
pointed out that while Jewish-Americans often tend to see things in
black-and-white terms, many Israelis are significantly more informed and far
more flexible.
Afterwards, a Jewish
attendee wrote to say, “Many of us here spend much time trying to
make sense of it all. Tough, heartfelt, eye-opening conversations occur between
folks who are willing to not just listen, but really hear. Sometimes it's not
very easy -- especially letting go of long held beliefs that can trigger anger,
fear, disappointment . . . [But] Much good work around this is being done by
the Jewish Dialogue Group and
those that support them.” Clearly, the
Interact’s Israeli/Palestinian festival had not only stirred up feelings, but
initiated future dialogues by using these plays and issues to generate a
process of thought and reflection.
Addendum:
The following excerpt comes from a letter written by Jane
Haskell after she had seen the reading of My Name is Rachel Corrie with
Julianna Zinkel at the Interact Theatre on June 7, 2008.
“I
loved the Rachel Corrie reading and wept openly when it was over. I had heard her story on ‘Democracy Now!’, so
knew something about her, and I was so moved, and so touched by the young woman
who did the reading. She was probably
just like Rachel, who knows for sure? I
hope that Rachel’s parents have an opportunity to see this reading sometime in
the future.
I
was moved very personally by the show, and also by the political situation. While I have great affection for Israel, I do
not at all condone the violence that Israel is currently inflicting on the
Palestinians. Jews were persecuted for
so long, it seems to me they could understand what it means to others to be
persecuted. But no, the war-mongering goes
on and on and it all seems so senseless.
Jean
Haskell”
Below, the full schedule of Interact Theatre Company’s Israeli/Palestinian
Play Festival:
June 7-8, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
11:00 a.m.: Concert Reading
Dirty Story
written by John Patrick Shanley, directed by Sean Christopher Lewis
From the acclaimed author of Doubt and Moonstruck
comes this metaphorical and satirical take on the relationship between Israel
and the Palestinian people, as an itinerant young writer moves in with her
surly middle-aged mentor only to embark on a truly dysfunctional relationship,
abetted by an equally dysfunctional British and American duo.
2:00 p.m.: Concert Reading
My Name is Rachel Corrie, Adapted
from Rachel Corrie’s personal diary by Alan Rickman and Katharine Viner, directed
by John Bellomo, featuring Julianna Zinkel
The controversial one-woman play chronicles a young American
woman’s observations and insights as she travels to the West Bank to fight for
the Palestinian cause and, ultimately, dies at the hands of an Israeli
bulldozer while standing in front of a Palestinian home.
4:00 p.m.: Symposium
A panel discussion examining different perspectives on
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Featuring Rosie Greenberg, Rabbi Nancy Fuchs Kreimer
& Marlena Santoyo of the Jewish
Voice for Peace
8:00 p.m.: Mainstage Performance
House, Divided, written by Larry Loebell, directed
by Seth Rozin
Sunday, June 8, 2008
11:00 a.m.: Concert Reading
Reading Hebron, written by Jason
Sherman, directed by Seth Reichgott
A Canadian Jew, while struggling with his own religious and
cultural identity, becomes obsessed with the Palestinian cause in the wake of
the massacre at the mosque in Hebron.
2:00 p.m.: Mainstage Performance
House, Divided, written by Larry Loebell, directed
by Seth Rozin
7:00 p.m.: Concert Reading
Goliath, written by Karen Hartmann, directed
by Lisa Jo Epstein
A family of settlers are forced to evacuate their house by a
conflicted Israeli army officer, revealing divisions within the Jewish
community.
