Israeli Drama and the Bible: Kings on the Stage

AJS Review ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenda Abramson
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Jewish History ◽  
Cultural Development ◽  
The State ◽  
Late Development ◽  
Sacred Texts ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Dramatic Form ◽  
State Of Israel

Drama is the most neglected genre within Hebrew cultural development. In fact, until shortly before the foundation of the State of Israel, few plays in Hebrew had been staged. Although a large number of works in dramatic form had been written, particularly in the nineteenth century, few of them were viable theatrical dramas. They fell into the categories of rhetoric and allegory, devoid of believable dramatis personae. There were some milestones along the way, such as Somi's Zahut Bedihuta de-Kiddushin (An Eloquent Marriage Farce, c. 1600), Luzzatto's Leyesharim tehilla (Praise for the Righteous, 1743), and some modern plays, but these were not sufficiently feasible for the establishment of a dramatic tradition. An important factor qualifying the late development of Hebrew drama was the language, for within the communities' diglossia throughout the ages, Hebrew was reserved for more elevated discourse than playacting. Moreover, Hebrew, the language of the sacred texts, was inadequate for the expression of everyday life. Nowhere in the diaspora was there a Hebrew-speaking audience; there was no folk life in Hebrew as there was in Yiddish. Also, the potential playwrights were faced with the problem of the divine imperative in Jewish history, which precludes anything like the theodicy that gave rise to classical tragedy. Other religious restrictions against certain forms of representation, together with the small value Jewish religious authorities traditionally placed on theatre for its own sake, were also crucial factors mitigating against the drama's development.

The Bible and the avant-garde: the search for a classical tradition in the Israeli theatre

2001 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
FREDDIE ROKEM
Keyword(s):  
Classical Tradition ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
The State ◽  
Book Of Job ◽  
Avant Garde ◽  
National Theatre ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Theatrical Performances ◽  
State Of Israel

The Israeli theatre has frequently employed the Hebrew Bible as a source for theatrical performances. Analysing three such performances, this article shows that the Bible, with its charged ideological implications for the establishment of the state of Israel, has perhaps somewhat unexpectedly inspired avant-garde productions that have frequently criticized the accepted ideological and aesthetic norms. The first of the three performances analysed is Hanoch Levin's play based on the book of Job called ‘The Torments of Job’ (Yisorei Iov), which Levin directed at the Cameri theatre in 1981. The second is the play ‘Jehu’ by Gilead Evron, directed by Hanan Snir at the Habima National Theatre in 1992, and the third is the ‘Bible Project’ directed by Rina Yerushalmi, which consists of two independent, but interrelated productions: ‘And He Said And He Was Walking’ (Va Yomer Va Yelech), which premiered in 1996, and ‘And They Bowed. And He Feared’ (Va Yishtachu. Va Yerra) which premiered in 1998.

Intertwined Landscape

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-65
Author(s):  
Mostafa Hussein
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
The State ◽  
Place Names ◽  
Islamic Culture ◽  
Natural Landscape ◽  
The Bible ◽  
State Of Israel ◽  
Jewish Intellectuals ◽  
National Enterprise ◽  
Emergent Culture

This article examines the ways in which Zionist intellectuals interacted with Arabo-Islamic culture in the Yishuv by looking into the cultivation of Islamicate knowledge pertinent to land and nature and its impact on the construction of the Jewish cultural landscape. I argue that in establishing a connection between Jews and the natural landscape of Palestine/ Israel, Jewish intellectuals relied on Arabo Islamic culture and its centuries of knowledge about the flora and the land itself. In their search to comprehend the flora and place names of the land of the Bible, Jewish individuals consulted Arabo-Islamic sources, finding them instrumental to their national enterprise. The culmination of these endeavors is that, in addition to Jewish and Western sources, Islamicate culture was one of the wellsprings from which Jewish intellectuals drew in shaping the emergent culture in the Yishuv and the early decades of the State of Israel.

R. Isaac Halevi Herzog

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Eisen
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
War Of Independence ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Major Figure ◽  
Six Day War ◽  
State Of Israel ◽  
Religious Zionism

R. Herzog (1888–1959) was the first Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Israel when the state of Israel was established in 1948. R. Herzog therefore had to deal with Israel’s first war, its War of Independence. R. Herzog’s formulates halakhic positions on war that build on those of R. Kook, adopting the latter’s position that the laws governing war are different from those governing the everyday, and that for this reason conscription is permitted. However, R. Herzog moves in original directions on some issues, adopting, for example, Nahmanides’ view that the state of Israel can wage war to conquer the land God promised to the Israelites in the Bible. The chapter concludes with an argument that R. Herzog’s views on war may have influenced those of R. Tsevi Yehudah Kook, the son of R. Abraham Isaac Kook, who was a major figure in religious Zionism after the Six Day War.

An Old Diaspora: Histories of Militancy by Palestinians with a Northeastern Accent

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 71-83
Author(s):  
Luciana Garcia de Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
The State ◽  
Northeastern Brazil ◽  
Cultural Center ◽  
The City ◽  
State Of Israel

Most of the Palestinians who arrived in the cities of Northeastern Brazil came during the time of the Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth century, especially after the travels of Emperor Dom Pedro II. The arrival of Palestinians before the founding of the State of Israel in 1948 made many Palestinians and their descendants indifferent to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The situation changed in the 1980s as a result of the worsening situation of Palestinians in Lebanon, when the Palestine-Brazil Cultural Center was established in the city of Olinda, Pernambuco, and the deputy Raymundo Asfora made many speeches in defense of the Palestinian cause. These militant actions served as an inspiration for new generations of Palestinians born in Brazil. A maioria dos palestinos que chegaram à algumas cidades do nordeste brasileiro vieram durante a vigência do Império Turco Otomano, em pleno século XIX, sobretudo após as viagens do imperador do Brasil, Dom Pedro II ao Oriente Médio. A chegada dos palestinos antes da fundação do Estado de Israel (1948) foi determinante para que muitos palestinos e descentes fossem indiferentes ao conflito Israel-Palestina. A situação mudou, mais tarde, na década de 1980, durante o agravamento da situação dos palestinos no Líbano. Foi inaugurado o Centro Cultural Palestina-Brasil na cidade de Olinda, PE, e o deputado Raymundo Asfora realizava muitos discursos públicos em defesa da causa palestina. Essas ações militantes serviram de inspiração para as novas gerações de palestinos nascidos no Brasil.

Postnationalist Pasts: The Case of Israel

1998 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 513-545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uri Ram
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
National Identity ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
The State ◽  
National Movement ◽  
Jewish Descent ◽  
State Of Israel

National identity is hegemonic among the population of Jewish descent in Israel. Zionism, modern Jewish nationalism, originated in eastern Europe in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. A national movement without a territory, Zionism naturally adopted the ethnic, or integrative, type of nationalism that prevailed in the region (for a basic typology of nationalism see Smith 1986: 79-84). In Palestine the diasporic Jewish nationalism turned into a settler-colonial nationalism. The state of Israel inherited the ethnic principle of membership and never adopted the alternative liberal-territorial principle. To this day the dominant ethos of the state is Zionist, that is, Jewish nationalist. Though Israeli citizenship is de jure equal to Jews and Arabs, a de facto distinction is easily discernible between the dominated minority and the dominant majority and its state.

scholarly journals Historical Museums in Israel: Semiotics of Culture

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (01) ◽  
pp. 43
Author(s):  
Gabriel Mayer
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Jewish History ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Jewish People ◽  
The State ◽  
Historical Museums ◽  
The Holocaust ◽  
Biblical History ◽  
Museum Culture ◽  
State Of Israel

<p>Tiny by physical size, the State of Israel retains some of the world’s most important cultural treasures, along with many other great cultural institutions. Archeological treasures have yielded much information as far as biblical history and have been well adapted to a Zionist narrative by both the Jewish press and international news organizations, such as the New York Times whose archives are replete with reports of Jewish history being dug up by the Jewish people. Once the State of Israel gained independence in 1948, the course was set for the development of historical museums whose discourse would reflect the most significant events in Jewish history, most especially the Holocaust and the state of constant warfare that continues to imbue the cultural consciousness of its citizens. In this paper we outline, through categorization, the various historical museums, which are currently operating. Furthermore, this article hopes to shed some light upon the cultural sensibilities conveyed through these institutions. This paper is about Israeli culture, mythology, and collective needs, as formed by and informed through a variety of historical museums. The working assumption is that in a historical museum culture is partially formed and at the same time the culture is influencing the contents and narratives on display inside the museum. It should be clear from the start that the discussion is held about Israeli museums as viewed by a Jewish population and created by and for Jews. Notwithstanding the multifaceted collective of Israeli society, this work is confined to and circumscribed by this demarcation. In the following sections, I intend to provide an explanation for this viewpoint from a historical perspective and also provide a framework of what constitutes a historical museum and justify the methodology of its employ. This will be followed by a discussion of the main categorical types of historical museums present in Israel, and finally a detailed accounting of specific museums.</p>

Bangladesh

2019 ◽  
pp. 184-196
Author(s):  
Pradeep Perez sj
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Slow Growth ◽  
The State ◽  
Religious Minority ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Christian Literature ◽  
National Life

Bangladesh is majority Muslim at 91%, mostly Sunni, with Islam as the state religion since 1988. The Hindus at 8.1% are the largest religious minority. Buddhists make up another 0.7%. Christians of diverse denominations constitute less than 1%. There are two archdioceses and seven dioceses in Bangladesh. While William Carey, who translated and printed the Bible in Bengali, came to Serampore in 1793, Protestant missionary efforts took root during the first half of the nineteenth century. The Christian contribution to Bangladesh’s freedom fight during the Liberation War in 1971 involved about 1,500 Christians with 4,000 more assisting the combatants. However, the slow growth of Christianity in the country is due to resistance to the gospel by Muslims and Hindus who identify Christianity with Western ideologies. Secondly, early missionaries focused their work on education at the expense of evangelism. A third reason is the devastating climate, which has disheartened many missionaries from new efforts at evangelization. Still, the distribution of Christian literature continues to play an important role in evangelistic efforts. Christian relief and development works have evangelized many. The contributions of missionaries and indigenous Christians have proved to be highly significant in different sectors of national life.

scholarly journals The Politics and Poetics of Oppression in Caryl Churchill's Seven Jewish Children

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-123
Author(s):  
Amal Abdel Aziz
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Approach ◽  
Jewish History ◽  
The State ◽  
Caryl Churchill ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Holocaust ◽  
Modern Jewish History ◽  
Poetic Narrative ◽  
Jewish Children ◽  
State Of Israel

Caryl Churchill is one of the leading contemporary British playwrights.  Because of the Israel military strike on Gaza in early 2009, she wrote her short poetic play, Seven Jewish Children, which densely explores modern Jewish history, from the time of pre-holocaust Europe up to the current struggles between Israel and Palestinian militant organizations. The stimulating dynamism of Churchill's historical chronicle is that though it introduces the past suffering of the Jews, it exposes their moral insincerity when it comes to labeling the current brutal actions performed by the state of Israel against Palestinian civilians. Employing a descriptive-analytical approach, this paper examines the play as a poetic narrative representing a pattern of reversed oppression in which contemporary Israelis, descendants of former victims of the Nazi, have inherited the legacy of the Holocaust and are deemed accountable for the ruthless violence perpetrated on the Arab residents of the occupied land.

The World Union for Progressive Judaism – Youth Section

2016 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-106
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Newman
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Second World War ◽  
The State ◽  
World War ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The World ◽  
Six Day War ◽  
Post War ◽  
State Of Israel ◽  
Second World

AbstractThis article describes the work of the Youth Section of the WUPJ (the World Union for Progressive Judaism) in Europe soon after the Second World War and the establishment of the State of Israel, with especial attention to the influence of Rabbi Lionel Blue. It covers tensions between generations over how to ‘teach’ Judaism; the astonishing numbers of rabbinical students recruited; ways we ‘encountered’ the Bible; the first post-war youth conference in Germany; early meetings with young Jews from Eastern Europe; first encounters with Muslims; and particularly the Six-Day War. The changes this brought about through Netzer and the shift in focus towards a more Israel-centred ideology are described. Finally, the conclusion is drawn that only ongoing messianic or prophetic ideals keep Judaism alive.

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