PANIM- Faces of Art and Culture in Israel - March-April 1996

Rina Yerushalmi's Vayomer: The Bible Reinterpreted

Throughout the ages, one of the most powerful and provocative sources of artistic inspiration has been the Bible. Whether painters, poets, choreographers or playwrights, artists have long tapped the wealth of raw material found in the stories, texts and characters of the holy scriptures. In her latest project, Vayomer, director Rina Yerushalmi and her Itim Theater Ensemble-Cameri Theater, inject contemporary theater, movement and music into a selection of texts from the Old Testament, the outcome being a new and unique perspective on the old and familiar. "In a country and world increasingly polarized between religious and secular attitudes of life, this project is more than timely," writes Yerushalmi. Her goal is to return to the source, to the origins of our intellectual concepts and history, and to renew a dialogue with the past and the future.

The ensemble began work on the project at the end of 1994. The segments were chosen by the actors and director who were looking for new ways to connect with the biblical texts. What impressed them most were the incredible rhythms and images, the expressiveness and conciseness of the ancient Hebrew - a gift for actors whose craft is tied so closely to language.

The piece is composed of four parts, Vayomer ("And He Spoke"), Vayelech ("And He Went"), Vayishtachavu ("And They Bowed Down") and Vayerah ("And He Appeared"), expecting to run about six hours when performed in their entirety. Although the segments are arranged according to themes, associations and compositional values, there is a definite progression in the show that begins with the creation of the world - from nothingness to essence - and the establishment of the laws. The temptation of Eve, the sacrifice of Isaac, Cain and Abel, Noah and the flood, the Ten Commandments and dietary laws are some of the segments in the first part. The second part deals with the formation of the nation of Israel, the covenant between man and God and reaching the promised land; in the third part, the nation anoints a king, an earthly god to bow down to and follow into war; the last section, Vayerah, addresses the relationship between God and man through the Prophets and their revelations. Yerushalmi notes, "There is no attempt to dramatize the text into a play form, but to allow it to create its own genre of theatrical experience."

The production, sponsored by the Israel Festival-Jerusalem, is designed to be an intimate experience, taking place in an open space with no separation between stage and audience. The 15 actors are interspersed among the viewers, rising to partake in their sequences and then returning to their seats. This is the fourth project undertaken by Itim, an ensemble known for the long gestation period of its productions and its innovative interpretations of such classics as Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and, now, the Old Testament. Vayomer will participate in the 1996 Israel Festival (June 5-6). It will also be performed at festivals in Vienna (May 14-16) and Hamburg (August 17-22).

SPOTLIGHT

Batya Gur woke up and decided she wanted to be a writer. And that is exactly what she did. A late-bloomer at 39, Gur popularized the detective genre in the Israeli literary canon and has become one of Israel's bestselling novelists abroad. All of her three mysteries (a fourth just came out in Hebrew) have made it on to the New York Times' annual Notable Book List, an impressive feat for any writer, not to mention a foreigner and a whodunit novice to boot. Her books have been translated into French, German (she won Germany's Crimi Prize), Italian, Dutch and Japanese.

But her success is first and foremost local. Her books -- all of them bestsellers -- are snatched up like popcorn in a movie theater -- a fact that leaves her not a little bit uncomfortable. Painfully shy, Gur, now 48, fidgets in her chair at a crowded Jerusalem cafe as if she were waiting to have a tooth extracted.

"I hate being asked personal questions," says Gur, a trim, measured woman with striking green eyes and pale blonde hair. She stoically succumbs. Gur only began writing nine years ago when she suddenly became tired of teaching high school and fed up with working on her master's thesis on the Israeli poet Natan Zach. She launched her writing career with a detective novel because, says this serious-minded former literary scholar, it's the least presumptuous genre. "If I failed, nobody would notice," she explains, her assured tones not totally masking the layers of self-doubt.

Gur's murders take place in self-contained insular societies -- the Jerusalem Psychoanalytic Institute ("The Saturday Morning Murder," 1988), Hebrew University's literature department ("Literary Murder," 1991) and a kibbutz, the paradigm of Israeli idealism and intrigue ("Murder on a Kibbutz," 1991). In her fourth novel, Gur ventures into the world of musicians.

To solve the murders, Gur introduces readers to Inspector Michael Ohayon, Israel's first home-grown detective and, in what seems to be a bid for anonymity, her polar opposite. He is, well, male. He is divorced, she is married. He is the son of Moroccan immigrants; she is the daughter of Holocaust survivors. A shrewd observer of the human condition, Ohayon solves his cases by getting into the suspects' shoes -- "It's only when I identify with someone that I know which way to go."

For Gur, the appearance of the detective genre is a symptom of a nation's maturity. "Totally realistic in an unrealistic way, it is a serious genre in that it is so ironic," says Gur. "I think we've become grown-up enough to take a look at ourselves through this finely-tuned microscopic lens."

After completing her third mystery, Gur took an imaginative leap of faith and wrote Lo kach tiarti li ("I Didn't Imagine It Like This"), a novel (due out in English in November) with no crime or suspects and whose main character is a female gynecologist.

Gur lights one cigarette after another. So do many of her characters, a rather dated scenario in these health-conscious times. "I am rather anachronistic, anyway," Gur offers between puffs, bending just an iota, "I am also old-fashioned; I like to have a door opened for me and enjoy being helped on with my coat. And" -- she now takes a deep breath -- "I hate the politics of feminism." A rather curious statement for a woman who has achieved so much. She gets up at 6:30, exercises at a local gym and is at her computer by 8:30. Aside from writing novels, Gur -- a voracious reader -- has a weekly book review column in the Hebrew daily Ha'aretz and teaches creative writing twice a week at the Jerusalem Film and Television School. She avoids TV and the social literary scene and enjoys cooking, classical music and the beach. And, naturally, she finds time for her children -- two boys and a girl, ages 18, 16, and 11.

How does she do it? Gur shrugs. "I don't know; it does sound impressive when you put it on paper," she admits, looking at her watch. "Oh dear, I really must go," she apologizes and in an unintentional nod to Lewis Carroll, hurries off to her next appointment.

- Shelley Kleiman

SHALOM-SALAAM

How does a well-known Israeli industrialist family, scientists at that, become art patrons and sponsors of projects combining peace and art? For the Fischers, it came from an act of charity.

It all began 17 years ago when an Israeli stamp collector sent out 100 first-day covers issued by the Israeli Philatelic Service, commemorating the first day of peace between Israel and Egypt, to 100 Israeli artists. 87 returned adorned with the individual artistic visions of some of Israel's finest artists. This marked the birth of the first "Artists - Messengers of Peace" exhibit, perhaps the most comprehensive collection of works by Israeli artists ever assembled. The stamp collector donated the collection, which includes pieces by Moshe Kupferman, Lea Nikel, Menashe Kadishman and Ivan Schwebel, to "LIBI," the fund-raising organization for the welfare of Israeli soldiers. The collection was put up for auction 12 years ago.

Enter Dr. Eli Fischer, founder and president of Dr. Fischer Laboratories, one of Israel's leading skincare companies. The Fischer family purchased the entire collection as their donation to "LIBI" and displayed it in their Tel Aviv home until 1994. That was the year officially designated by the Ministry of Education as the "Year of Peace." For the occasion, the collection was moved to the Eretz Israel Museum where it hung for the year, accompanied by workshops on peace given by the museum to school children.

The Fischers felt the next natural step was to send the exhibit abroad. They turned to exhibit producer Doron Polak for assistance in reaching appropriate venues in the United States. As a result, "Artists - Messengers of Peace" opens at New York's Hebrew Union College gallery at the beginning of March. From there it will move among Jewish museums in Chicago, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Berkeley and Miami. Arrangements are also being made to display the exhibit in South America - Chile, Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela.

With the signing of the peace treaty with Jordan, the Fischers decided to continue the tradition and purchased first-day covers, sending them out once again to leading artists in Israel and abroad. This time, interested artists also contacted the Fischers, asking to participate in the project.

The resulting collection, sponsored entirely by the Fischer family, currently stands at 140 pieces, with additional works arriving daily. Among the artists included in this collection are Nachum Tevet, Yehoshua Neustein, Ido Bar-El, Dorit Yaakobi, Yair Garbuz, the Abu Shakra brothers, Agnes Dennis (NY), Vulto (Holland), V.V. Anger (Australia), Helena Beriolo (Italy) and Jenny Marketo (Greece).

Eventually, the producers plan on creating two traveling exhibits, each comprised half of the Egypt and half of the Jordan works. Comparing the two collections, Polak notes some significant differences between them. He describes the earlier Egypt exhibit as "optimistic," "euphoric," and "poetic." The artists used bright colors and traditional symbols of peace such as the dove and the olive branch. The much larger Jordan collection, on the other hand, expresses hints of apprehension and suspicion regarding the peace process in general. Instead of overwhelming color, black appears more frequently along with symbols marking the reality of co-existence - maps and topography, the intifada, the territories, dialogue and communication and historical elements. This time, Arab artists also contributed to the collection. The envelopes each carry their own story, adding to the rich weave of politics and art.

The Fischers' crossover from industrialists to avid patrons of Israeli art continues with yet another project involving local artists and the subject of peace. They are building a non-profit art gallery at their new factory in Netanya which is scheduled to be ready within the next three years. In the meantime, Devorah and Eli Fischer spend their Fridays going from gallery to gallery in search of pieces for their fledgling collection. The subject of the gallery which will be open to the public will be "the art of peace."

She is Israeli, of Moroccan heritage, brought up in a poor neighborhood in the southern city of Beersheba. Her humble origins, petite build and bashful demeanor mask an extraordinary talent. She is Zehava Ben, the singer whose mesmerizing voice now wraps itself around the revered songs of the late great Egyptian singer, Um Kulthum. Ben, backed by the 24-piece Haifa Arab Orchestra conducted by Suhil Raduan, wins over even the most fanatic Um Kulthum fans with her interpretations of such classic and complex songs as El-atlall and Inta Oumri, songs that she recalls her father listening to in her youth. Ben does not speak Arabic so her preparations for the show entailed work with a language expert and musicologist who helped her capture the poetic nuances in the phrasing and intonation.

Ben first unveiled her unique program at the Jaffa Peace Festival and performed it in Jericho during the recent Ramadan holiday. The Palestinian Ministry of Culture has also given the green light for Ben to perform in Gaza at some point in the future. It is her dream to perform one day at Cairo's famed opera house. Enthusiasm for Ben's program is spreading quickly and she and the orchestra have been invited to a number of festivals this summer in Europe and Scandinavia including Stockholm (June 12), Montpellier (July 5) and the Sfinks Festival (Boechout, Belgium; July 27).

To this day, Um Kulthum's music can be heard across the length and breadth of the Arab world. Reinterpreting her music is Ben's gift to an evolving region. "I hope my songs will be a bridge of peace," she says.

The Diwan is part of Arab folklore, a gathering or assembly, usually in an open courtyard, for the purpose of listening to folk tales, singing and dancing. In Acre, a town with a mixed Jewish and Arab population, when people mention Diwan, today they are most likely referring to a unique musical ensemble that sprouted out of the Acre Theater Center. Founded in 1987 by Moni Yosef, an actor and director at the theater, Diwan has evolved from a theatrical storytelling experience tracing the rich 5,000 year history of the sea port town into an Arab-Jewish musical happening.

When the group first participated in the Acre Fringe Theater Festival in 1993, the four-five hour program, described as a "social-theatrical event," included a tour of the old city of Acre in order to acquaint the audience with the Arab lifestyle through hospitality in the artists' homes, a meal of hummus and, finally, through the Diwan experience itself.

At the 1995 festival, the group of ten musicians (six Arab and four Jewish), a singer and a pair of Sufi dancers, presented "Between the Walls," a concert based upon poems written in the old city of Acre. Ori Vidislavsky, musical director of Diwan, notes, "...to create an encounter between east and west is artificial. One can't create it because it's (already) there. This is our reality in Israel now and all we have left is to listen to (it)." The result is a show of songs in Arabic, mostly composed by Gazi Abu Baker and sung by Acre native Sahar Fody. The songs express nostalgia and longing for the past and the old way of life, and also hope for the future as in the timely "Despite the Tiredness:"

"Despite the tiredness and fate
The sea is still blus.
Despite the pain and the forgotten
The sun still shines...
However deep the darkness may live
In our brave and beautiful homeland
Morning will arrive
After the night."

Lyrics by Gazi Abu Baker
(translated from Arabic)

Diwan has been invited to ethnic festivals and events in Switzerland and Germany and will be performing "Between the Walls" in Britain (London and Brighton) in May.

FILM

A Bounty of Retrospectives for Jerusalem Film School

Between now and 1997, seven retrospectives of student films from the Jerusalem Film and Television School are scheduled. Starting with the Krakow Film Festival this May, retrospectives will also be held at the St. Petersburg Film Festival in June, at three festivals in Spain (Huesca, 6/96; Valencia, 7/96; Valladolid 10/96) and at the Chicago Film Festival in October. Plans are already firm for a retrospective at the Mexico City Film Festival in August, 1997.

Israel Film Archive/Jerusalem Cinematheque to Host FIFA Conference

For the first time in Israel's history, the International Federation of Film Archives (FIFA) will hold its annual conference in Jerusalem. Over 80 film archives will be represented by 150 participants from 60 countries. During the ten-day conference in April, discussions will be held on subjects ranging from archive copyrights to film restoration as a metaphor for a cultural renaissance. Federation officials have invited representatives from Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria and Cyprus - countries currently in early stages of establishing their own national film archives. The Israel Film Archive, directed by Lia Van Leer and located at the Jerusalem Cinematheque, has been a member of FIFA since 1960.

"White Night" (Laila lavan):
Based on Shlomo Kfir's short story, "Charlie is Clean," this is the story of two prisoners, Charlie and Shlomo. Shlomo helps Charlie, the prison "boss," kick his drug addiction. In spite of harsh prison conditions and their vastly different social and ideological backgrounds, an unexpected friendship develops between the two. Charlie's path to rehabilitation becomes a spiritual as well as a physical one, filled with pain, failure and success. The film was shot mostly inside an Israeli prison with the participation of real prisoners. Directed and produced by Arnon Zadok.

MUSIC

New TV Series on the History of Israeli Rock

Israel Television has commissioned a series on the history of Israeli rock. The series of 12 40-minute episodes will examine the evolution of Israeli rock over the past 30 years, from the glory days of the army groups, through the pop music of groups like Mashina to enfant terrible Aviv Gefen. Music critic Yoav Kutner will be the in-house expert and chief editor of the program. The cinematic format will include Kutner's interviews with leading rock personalities and will present the subject in terms of domestic and international contexts. The series is scheduled to air by the end of 1997, in time for Israel's 50th anniversary celebrations.

THEATER

Sobol's "Ghetto" a Hit in Japan

Capturing three first places (out of a possible five) at Japan's most prestigious annual theater awards, the Yomiyuri Theater Prize, Joshua Sobol's play "Ghetto," was the big winner for 1995. The Japanese production of the play was unanimously singled out as the best play of the year and also won the awards for best direction and stage design. Both the director and the stage designer credit the powerful play for their inspiration and success. The play also won two additional awards: the Mainichi Newspaper Award for best director and the Kinokuniya Literary Prize for best actor. "Ghetto" played in Kobe and Tokyo. In light of the play's success, its producers are planning to present it again in Japan in two to three years' time.

Israeli Dance Company and British Chroeographer Team Up as Part of BI ARTS

Collaboration between British choreographer Paul Norton, cutting edge British composer Fred Firth and the Batsheva Dance Company resulted in The Rogue Tool which the company debuted in February. Invited to Israel through the British Israeli Arts Training Scheme (BI ARTS), Norton, a former medical student turned choreographer, worked with the Batsheva dancers in a special workshop that culminated in the creation of Tool. Norton's movements reflect an anatomically analytical style undoubtedly influenced by his earlier medical studies. Firth also came to Israel as part of the project and conducted a master class with Israeli musicians. Established and sponsored by the British Council, the Foreign Ministry's Division of Cultural and Scientific Affairs and the National Council for Culture and Art, BI ARTS provides training for Israeli and British artists in all fields through the exchange of expertise and experience available in the two countries.

EVENTS

The years are 1940 to 1947. Palestine is populated by the pre-state veteran Jewish community, local Arabs, recent Jewish immigrants and Holocaust survivors, British soldiers and Italian prisoners of war. Rommel is on the verge of victory in Egypt, at El Alamein; the Holocaust is ravaging Europe; and the Haganah (the precursor to the Israeli army) is training young Jewish troops in preparation for the battle for survival. Amidst these tumultuous times - within the big circle of world events - hides a village somewhere in Palestine whose residents are just trying to live out their daily lives in their small corner of the universe. "Village" (Kfar) is their stories, their loves and fears, pains and disappointments, as remembered fondly through the eyes of Yossi, an eternal boy. Joshua Sobol, the playwright, describes his play as "a ballad on the end of innocence."

As the play begins, Yossi has become a grave digger in the village cemetery where all the dear figures of his youth are buried. He introduces the audience to his insulated world where his memories reign, untroubled by reality. He recalls his friends and family through his personal prism of naivete and purity. There is the village doctor whose wife, Clara, openly flirts with a British officer and who, himself, is in love with the beautiful Sonia, a Holocaust survivor. There is Yossi's socialist grandmother, Leah, who constantly quotes Lenin and imparts a political education to Sa'id, a local Arab merchant. His brother Ami, so brave and fearless, joins the fledgling Haganah. But most of all there are Dassi and Ditza. Dassi escapes her parents' complicated relationship for Yossi's simple, childlike charm. Ditza is the family goat who, in life and in spirit, is Yossi's confidante, particularly on the one subject that troubles him most, death.

Written by Sobol especially for the Gesher ("Bridge") Theater, "Village" was inspired by the playwright's own childhood and the people who were once part of his life. Directed by Yevgeny Arye, the three-hour production comes to life amidst the impressive stage design of Alexander Lisiyansky. A revolving wooden walkway, reminiscent of a baggage carousel, carries the play's characters through their world - a combination of wheat fields and furnishings from the old country - invoking the cycle of life and its transience.

Already recognized as one of Israel's leading theater companies, the Gesher Theater was established five years ago by a group of new immigrant Russian actors and their director, Arye. The troupe performs in Russian - and now in Hebrew, as well. "Village" is their first original Israeli production, one they are uniquely suited to tackle as most of them have first-hand knowledge of the new immigrant experience. Beyond that, the play also gives them an opportunity to connect to Israel's history and reality. Though very different from their own, it is now theirs nonetheless.

Veteran actors, recent immigrants, even an Israel Prize-winning dance pioneer, were among the presenters at this year's Teatronetto Festival. Ten monodramas, selected from the 100 submissions, competed for the NIS 10,000 prize at the seventh annual celebration of solo theater held at the Suzanne Dellal Center in Tel Aviv. Much of the material drew on Hebrew literature or were personal pieces written and performed by the actors. "A Jew in Darkness" (Yehudi Bahoshech) with Shmuel Viloszny tells of a Spanish priest in 1485 whose confession of his Jewish heritage and forbidden love is heard, unbeknownst to him, by an inquisitor; In Benny Barbash's "My First Sony," a family's breakup is witnessed from the point of view of a child who obsessively tapes the goings-on with his tape recorder; Tahal Ran's "Where's Ruti" explores the effects of sexual abuse on a young girl. And the winner is..... "A Jew in Darkness."

CULTURE BRIEFS

"Ten measures of beauty were given to the world - nine to Jerusalem, and one to all the rest." This statement from the Talmud expresses the singular place Jerusalem has held in the hearts and minds of people throughout history. It is also the source of inspiration for a new exhibit by children from around the world at the Israel Museum from the end of March until the beginning of May. 500 drawings made by children ages 6-15 from 65 countries comprise "Children of the World Draw Jerusalem at 3000," the culmination of art contests organized by Israel's missions abroad. Hailing from such diverse cultures as Indonesia, Zaire, Nepal, the Fiji Islands, Bolivia, China and the United States, the children depict Jerusalem, a place most have never actually seen, by exploring the far reaches of their imaginations: a city of universal peace, of dreams and symbols. Only a child's mind can attribute the best of their own heritage to the ideal of Jerusalem. Chinese landscapes, Greek architecture, crosses on Bolivian mountains all find a seemingly natural place in their visions.

A panel of judges selected 12 outstanding works from the large collection and invited their young creators to come to Israel for a week-long encounter with 18 Israeli children whose works were also singled out. The project was initiated by the Ministry of Education and Culture and carried out with the cooperation of the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Tourism and El Al Airlines, among others.

A dozen other exhibits on Jerusalem will fill the Israel Museum during the same period. Among the exhibits are archeological renditions of King David; 15th century European forgeries of ancient shekels; Jerusalem, as viewed by Israeli artists; the recreation of a typical, turn-of-the-century Old City market scene featuring the distinctive costumes of the various townspeople; 15th-18th century prints and drawings by the likes of Dürer, Mantegna and Rembrandt, featuring Jerusalem as the backdrop to biblical stories; a collection of travelogues - journals and diaries from pilgrims, clergymen, scholars, artists, officers and adventurers exploring Jerusalem throughout the centuries; and paintings of Jerusalem views by one of the city's noted artists, Anna Ticho (1894-1980).