Play about dead American activist performed in Israel for Hebrew-speaking audience

JERUSALEM ? A one-woman play about an American activist who was crushed to death by an Israeli military bulldozer in Gaza is being performed for Hebrew-speaking audiences for the first time. Producers hope the show will force Israelis to confront an issue that, 10 years later, is still stirring passions.

Rachel Corrie was killed in 2003 as she attempted to block the bulldozer from razing homes in the southern Gaza Strip. She has become a divisive figure since her death.

For pro-Palestinian activists, Corrie became a rallying cry and vivid image of what they say is Israel's harsh repression of the Palestinians.

Corrie belonged to the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement, whose activists enter conflict zones and try to interfere with activities of Israel's military in the West Bank and Gaza, territories the Palestinians claim for their future state.

Many of the areas where they operate have been declared off-limits for civilians by the Israeli military, and most Israelis consider ISM activists like Corrie to be misguided, biased troublemakers and thrill seekers.

Israel captured the Gaza Strip, along with the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, two years after Corrie died.

"My Name is Rachel Corrie" was first staged in London in 2005 and has since courted controversy. A New York off-Broadway theater backed out of plans to stage the play in 2006, drawing charges of censorship from its creators. Performances in Toronto and Florida were canceled, reportedly after pressure from pro-Israel groups.

That drama has followed the play to Israel. The Hebrew version premiered briefly in March at a festival in Tel Aviv. On Sunday night, it opened at Jerusalem's Khan Theater. Both performances drew threats from politicians to cut the budgets of venues that stage the play.

Such opposition has not deterred the producers. They hope the Hebrew version will stimulate some introspection among audience members about Israel's activities in the Palestinian territories.

"(Israel) is the most natural place to hold the play. It's the most appropriate place, where the audience member gets an opportunity to ask himself how he leads his life and how the society he lives in makes decisions," said Ari Remez, the play's director. Remez said he hoped opening in Jerusalem, a city considered less open-minded than Tel Aviv, Israel's liberal cultural hub, would grant the play reach to a more diverse audience.

Source: http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/214710181.html

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