Israeli Artists Condemn Settlements

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, 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.”

For further background and frequently asked questions, click here.

JVP supports divestment from and boycotts of companies that proﬁt from Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. This includes companies operating in or from occupied Palestinian territory, exploiting Palestinian labor and scarce environmental resources, providing materials or labor for settlements, or producing military or other equipment or materials used to violate human rights or to proﬁt from the Occupation. Download our full statement on the Palestinian-led BDS movement.

COVERAGE OF GROWING ISRAELI SUPPORT FOR CAMPAIGN:

Voice of America (with Audio): Group of Israeli Academics Move to Support Palestinian Plight

Christian Science Monitor: As Netanyahu pushes for settlement freeze deal, suburban Ariel could be sticking point

Al Jazeera: Israel Academics to Boycott College

Jewish Telegraph Agency: Ariel theater opening pits left and right in fight over who is hurting Israel

Jewish Telegraph Agency: Education students boycott Ariel

Ha’aretz: Prominent film, television artists join boycott of West Bank arts center

Ynet: Students join Ariel boycott

Project Democracy: The Ariel Cultural Center: A crucible for Israeli democracy

+972 Magazine: My prime minister called me a backstabber



COVERAGE OF OUR SUPPORT CAMPAIGN:

Guardian: Architects against Israeli occupation

Ha’aretz: Frank Gehry, Daniel Barenboim join Ariel boycott campaign

Jerusalem Post: Gehry, Barenboim join boycott of W. Bank settlements

Jewish Chronicle: Frank Gehry backs settlement boycott

Architectural Record: Gehry Signs Letter in Support of Israeli Performers’ Boycott

Building Design: Gehry joins Israel boycott over West Bank settlements

New York Times: A West Bank Enclave is on the Edge

Forward: Why Some Jewish Stars Support Israeli Artistic Boycott

Jerusalem Post: US artists’ support for settlement boycott spreading fast

LA Times: Hollywood shows some support for Israeli actors’ refusal to perform in West Bank settlement

Theodore Bikel Op-Ed in Huffington Post: Legitimizing an obstacle to peace

Tony Kushner and Alisa Solomon in the Nation: An Unsettling Protest in Israel

Jewish Telegraph Agency: Artists fight over Israel: The sequel

Ha’aretz article with quotes from Wallace Shawn: US actors back boycott of Ariel theater

Ynet: Boycotts are legitimate

Ynet: Artists’ boycott of Ariel goes international

Jewish Chronicle: Hollywood joins West Bank protest

Daily Star: British and American thespians support Israeli theater boycott

Ma’an News: Support for Israeli actors’ boycott grows

Ma’an News: US actors back boycott of West Bank theater

Irish Examiner: Israeli minister warns on settlement slowdown

Mondoweiss: Artists support for Ariel boycott is ‘a groundbreaking, precedent-setting initiative that will significantly contribute to ending Israel’s impunity’

MJ Rosenberg on Huffington Post: Hollywood joins Israeli artists in boycotting West Bank

Magnes Zionist: A Fiddler On the Roof in Ariel? Sounds crazy, no?

Mitchell Plitnick: ‘Mainstream’ peace groups need to support this initiative from JVP

Arutz Sheva: US actors support Israeli Ariel protest

Mondoweiss: Groundbreaking Letter

Tikkun Olam: Hollywood, Broadway stars support Israeli cultural boycott

COVERAGE OF ORIGINAL ISRAELI ARTISTS’ PROTEST:

CNN: Israeli Actors Threaten to Boycott Cultural Center in West Bank Settlement

Ha’aretz Magazine: Dramatic effects

Jewish Journal: L.A. donors play role in Israeli settlement

Ynet: Artists to refuse to perform in Ariel culture hall

New York Times: Boycott of Theater in Israeli Settlement Grows

UK Guardian: Actors boycott West Bank Theater

Gideon Levy, Ha’aretz: Puppet Theater

Ha’aretz Editorial: Stalin’s Commissar in the PMO

Tikun Olam: Israeli Cultural Figures Appeal to Actors to Boycott Ariel

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; Former President Screen Actors Guild,

Daniel Barenboim

Conductor, Pianist

7 Grammy Awards; Wolf Award; numerous other awards

Roseanne Barr

Actor, Comedienne, Writer, Television Producer

Roseanne, Emmy, Golden Globe, 6 People’s Choice Awards, 3 American Comedy Awards, TV Land Innovator Award

Theodore Bikel

Actor, 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 Theatre, Film and Television

Eve Ensler

Playwright, Performer

The Vagina Monologues; Obie Award; Guggenheim Fellowship

Frank Gehry

Architect

National Medal of the Arts, Pritzker Prize Winner, Designed Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles; Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, Experience Music Project in Seattle.

Mary Rodgers Guettel

Composer, Author

Once Upon A Mattress; Freaky Friday; Free to Be You and Me; The Hot Spot; From A to Z; The Mad Show; Working; The Madwoman of Central Park West; Director of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization

Sheldon Harnick

Lyricist

Pulitzer Prize winner; Tony Award winner; Fiorello!; Fiddler on the Roof

Ethan Hawke

Actor, Writer, Film Director

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

Tony Kushner

Playwright, Screenwriter

Pulitzer Prize for Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia; Caroline or Change; Tony, Emmy, Drama Desk Award winner; Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominee; Co-author of Munich

Jennifer Jason Leigh

Actor

Miriam Margolyes

Actor

BAFTA winner; Wicked; Little Dorrit; James and the Giant Peace; Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Julianne Moore

Actor

Boogie Nights; Magnolia; Far From Heaven; The Hours; The Big Lebowski; A Single Man; The Kids Are All Right

Mira Nair

Director

Monsoon Wedding, The Namesake, Mississippi Masala, Salaam Bombay!

Cynthia Nixon

Actress

Sex and the City; The Heidi Chronicles; Angels in America; Emmy, Tony and Grammy Award-winning actress

Lynn Nottage

Playwright

Pulitzer Prize winner for Ruined; MacArthur Fellowship; Guggenheim Fellowship

Mandy Patinkin

Actor, Vocalist

Evita; Sunday in the Park with George; Tony and Emmy Award winner; The Princess Bride, Yentl; Mamaloshen (Vocalist)

Harold Prince

Director, Producer

Pajama Game, Cabaret, West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Sweeney Todd, Evita, Phantom of the Opera, Company, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Zorba; Follies (a short list of an impossibly long list); multiple Tony Award Winner National Medal of the Arts recipient

Vanessa Redgrave

Actress

Oscar, Emmy, Tony, Golden Globe, Cannes Film Festival and the Screen Actors Guild awards; BAFTA Fellowship; The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie; Julia; The Trojan Women; Blowup; Isadora; 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

My Dinner With Andre; The Princess Bride; Vanya on 42nd St; playwright of The Fever, The Designated Mourner, Aunt Dan and Lemon; translator of The Threepenny Opera

Stephen Sondheim

Composer, Lyricist

Pulitzer Prize, Academy Award, Multiple Tony, Grammy, Drama Desk, Obie Award winner; Kennedy Center Honors Lifetime Achievement Award; West Side Story; Gypsy; A Funny Thing Happenend on the Way to the Forum; Company; A Little NIght Music; Sweeney Todd; Sunday in the Park with George; Into the Woods (a short list of a remarkably long list)

Jennifer Tilly

Actress

Bullets Over Broadway, The Fabulous Baker Boys, Liar Liar, Bound; Academy Award Nominee

Ben Achtenberg

Filmaker, Refuge Media Project

David Adjmi

Playwright

Stunning; Steinberg Playwright Award, the Bush Artists Fellowship, and the Kesselring Fellowship for Drama

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.”

Caron Atlas

Cultural Organizer and Consultant, Project Director, Arts and Democracy Project

Arthur Aviles

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

Sheila Balter

Actor, Director

Word for Word Performing Arts Company

David Barlow

Actor, Writer, Performance Artist

Ken Barnett

Actor, Teacher

Laura Barnett

Theater Educator, Performance Artist, Director

George Bartenieff

Actor

Obie Award Winner

Bruce Barthol

Composer, Lyricist

San Francisco Mime Troupe

Mark Barthol

Composer, Lyricist

Mark Barton

Lighting Designer

John Bell

Director, Puppeteer

Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, 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

Margo Berdeshevsky

Poet, Actor, Author, Photographer

Jonathan Berger

Artist, Curator

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

Chana Bloch

Poet, Translator

Paul Boesing

Actor, Composer

Valerie Brinton

Playwright

Abigail Browde

Writer, Actor, Director

Stefan Brün

Theater Director

Robert Brustein

Theatrical Critic, Producer, Playwright and Educator. Founder – Yale Repertory Theatre

James Bundy

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

Kathleen Chalfant

Actor

Obie Award winner (2x), Drama Desk winner, Tony Award Nominee; Angels in America: Millenium Approaches; Wit

Linda Chapman

Director, Playwright, Performer

Associate Artistic Director, New York Theatre Workshop

Rachel Chavkin

Director

Founder and Artistic director of the TEAM (the Theater of the Emerging American Moment); Obie Award winner

Trudi Cohen

Puppeteer, Theater Artist

Great Small Works

Becky Cole

Writer, WGAE

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

Aaron Davidman

Actor, Director, Playwright

Matthew Dellapina

Actor

Ivor Dembina

Comedian

David J. Diamond

Producer, Theater Consultant

Elin Diamond

Critic, Scholar

Liz Diamond

Director

Chair, Directing Department – Yale School of Drama

Tamar Diesendruck

Composer

Awarded Rome Prize; Guggenheim Fellowship

Sally Eberhardt

Producer, Actor

Theatres Against War (THAW)

Edward Einhorn

Director, Playwright, Novelist

Artistic Director of Untitled Theater Company #61 and of the Festival of Jewish Theater and Ideas

Deborah Eisenberg

Playwright, Author, Actor

MacArthur Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship, O. Henry Awards

John Clinton Eisner

Artistic Director, Lark Play Development Center

Linda Elbow

Company Manager

Bread and Puppet Theater

Rebecca Ennen

Dramaturg

Oskar Eustis

Artistic Director, The Public Theater

Phyllis Ewen

Artist

Bertie Ferdman, Ph.D.

Director, Theatre Artist, Curator, Producer, Educator

Artistic Director – ExPgirl

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

Juliette Galant

Publisher

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

Andre Gregory

Actor, Director

My Dinner With Andre

Kathryn Grody

Actor, Writer

Obie Award Winner

Jason Grote

Playwright, Screenwriter

Marilyn Hacker

Writer, Translator, Editor



Anne Hallinan

Actor

Woman’s Will

Del Hamilton

Co-Founder and Artistic Director

7 Stages

Josh Hamilton

Actor

Hali Hammer

Musician

Jeremy Hardy

Comedian

Karen Hartman

Playwright

Suzanne Hayes

Actor, Producer, Director

Word for Word Performing Arts Company

David Herskovits

Founder and Artistic Director

Target Margin Theater

Ian W. Hill

Director

Gemini CollisionWorks

Joan Holden

Playwright

Jeffrey Horowitz

Director

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 proposed grants were vetoed for gay content

Birgit Huppuch

Actor

Julia Jarcho

Playwright, Director, Performer

Morgan Jenness

Dramaturg

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

Audrey Kalajian

Producer

Stephen Kaplin

Puppeteer, Theater Designer/Performer

Great Small Works and Chinese Theatre Works

Melissa Kievman

Director

Dwayne King

Actor

Lauren Klein

Actor

Maxine Klein

Director

Zachary Klein

Writer

Josh Kornbluth

Monologist

Gail Kreigel

Playright, Composer

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

Dramaturg and Curator

Former Associate and Acting Artistic Director, American Repertory Theatre

Roberta Levitow

Co-Founder, Theatre Without Borders

Kathryn Levy

Writer

Sheila Lewandowski

Executive Director, The Chocolate Factory Theater

Irene Lewis

Artistic Director, Center Stage, Baltimore, Maryland

Ethan Lipton

Playwright

Casey Llewellyn

Theater Artist

Jason Loewith

Executive Director, National New Play Network

Quincy Long

Playwright

John Carroll Lynch

Actor

Body of Proof; Fargo; Zodiac; Shutter Island; Big Love; The Drew Carey Show

Kirk Lynn

Co-Producing Artistic Director – Rude Mechs, Austin, TX

Henry MacWilliams

Director, Writer, Producer

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

Bezalel Manekin

Teacher

Encore! Educational Theater Company (Israel)

Nina Mankin

Dramaturg, Writer

Emily Mann

Artistic Director/Playwright

McCarter Theatre Center, Princeton, NJ

Elizabeth Mansfield

Performer; Writer

Deborah Margolin

Playwright, Actor, Educator

Vijay Mathew

Co-Director, American Voices New Play Institute

Marin Mazzie

Actress, Singer

Ellen McLaughlin

Playwright; Actor

Erin Mee

Director, Educator

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 proposed grants were vetoed for gay content

Jennifer Miller

Performance Artist, Founder and Artistic Director of Circus Amok

Barbara Miluski

Actor

Jennifer Monson

Dancer, Choreographer, iLand

Guggenheim Fellowship

Steve Moore

Artistic Director, Physical Plant Theater

Susan Mosakowski

Playwright,Co-Artistic Director Creation Production Company

David Moscow

Actor

Erika Munk

Critic, Writer, Educator, formerly at the Yale School of Drama

Tom Nelis

Actor

Harry Newman

Playwright

Jim Nicola

Artistic Director, New York Theatre Workshop

Alicia Ostriker

Poet

Carol Ostrow

Producing Director, The Flea Theater

Annie-B Parson

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; Artistic Resident at the Vineyard Theater

Ralph Pena

Artistic Director, Ma Yi Theater

Carla Peterson

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

Maria Soledad Cervantes Ramirez

Actor, Translator

Ruth Reichl

Writer and Editor

Former Editor-in-Chief – Gourmet magazine, Memoirist, 6-time James Beard Award winner

Reno

Comedian

Kate Ritter

Musician, Actor

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

Najla Said

Actor, Playwright

Richard Schechner

Director

Professor of Performance Studies at the Tisch School of Performance Arets, NYU; Editor of the Drama Review; Artistic Director of East Coast Artists

Ken Rus Schmoll

Director

Laura Schleifer

Writer, Actor

Theaters Against War

Lisa Schlesinger

Playwright

Sarah Schulman

Playwright, Novelist, Historian

Peter Schumann

Director

Founder, Bread and Puppet Theater

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

Sloane Shelton

Actor, Writer, Producer

Jonathan Marc Sherman

Playwright

Christopher Shinn

Playwright

Obie Award winner, Guggenheim Fellowship, Pulitzer Prize finalist

Misha Shulman

Playwright

Jeanmarie Simpson

Theatre/Film Artist

Blair Singer

Television Writer

NBC Universal

Michael Singer

Television News Producer

Former producer, CBS News

Peter Snoad

Playwright, Actor

Alisa Solomon

Theater Critic, Dramaturg

Director of Arts Concentration, Columbia School of Journalism

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

Luciana Talamonti

Actor, Director

Bill Talen

Director

The Church of Life After Shopping

Jonathan Tasini

Writer

Former President, National Writers Union

Astra Taylor

Director

Zizek!; Examined Life

Zohar Tirosh-Polk

Playwright

Kathleen Tolan

Playwright, Actor

Basil Twist

Puppeteer

Obie Award Winner

Rob Urbinati

Director, Playwirght, Screenwriter

Director of New Play Development at Queens Theatre in the Park

Charlie Varon

Playwright, Performer

Paula Vogel

Playwright, Scholar

Pulitzer Prize Winner, Eugene O’Neill Chair, Playwriting Department -Yale School of Drama

Irena Wachendorff

Writer, Musician

Angela Waldegg

Director, Actor, Teacher

Naomi Wallace

Playwright, Screenwriter

Anne Wangh

Choreographer, Lecturer on Dance

Founder, Dance Library of Israel

Stephen Wangh

Playwright, Director, Acting Teacher

Naropa University

Anne Washburn

Playwright

Guggenheim Fellow

Donya K. Washington

Director

Stephen Webber

Actor

Brenda Wehle

Actor

Evan Weissman

Actor, Playwright

Buntport Theater Company

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

Robert Woodruff

Director

Susan Yankowitz

Award-Winning Playwright and Librettist

David Zellnik

Playwright, Screenwriter, Lyricist