PANIM- Faces of Art and Culture in Israel- January-February 1996

Omanut La'am: Taking Art to the People

Like parents who imbue their children with a taste for culture by methodically and consistently exposing them to various forms of artistic expression, Omanut La'am (Art for the People) has spent the past 40 yearsraising the "children of Israel" on a diet of theater, dance, music, literature, film and the plastic arts.

This unique organization had its start in the early 1950's when its goal was to encourage Israel's new "melting pot" by familiarizing the hundreds of thousands of new immigrants residing in transit camps and development towns with Israeli theater. Since 1973, it has been a non-profit association and receives the bulk of its funding from the Ministry of Education and Culture. Today, Omanut La'am brings theater, concerts, dance, film, literary encounters and exhibits to immigrant absorption centers, Arab towns and dozens of other communities located outside the city centers.

The organization functions along two lines: Each year, the various units, on the advice of repertory committees, compile a catalog of shows and artists in all fields. Professionally-curated exhibits and talks with the artists; Hebrew and Arabic literary and storytelling encounters for adults and children; theatrical productions by large and small theaters and meetings with directors, actors and playwrights; dance performances, ranging from the classical to modern, by Israel's leading dance companies and discussions with dancers and choreographers on the creative process; screenings of Israeli films and discussions on film production and the language of cinema; concerts of classical, jazz and folk music - OLA "buys" all these programs from the artists and then "sells" them to regional council and community center directors, cultural programmers from the kibbutzim etc. at a considerably subsidized rate (up to 50%). When the productions are too large to mobilize, groups are bused into the city to see them. Omanut La'am handled over 15,000 different shows in more than 500 communities and organizations last year alone. The Arab sector has witnessed an increase in activity over the last 3-4 years. Although demand in this sector remains a fraction (about 5%) of that in the Jewish sector, it grew by 250% between 1994 and 1995.

The second of Omanut La'am's modus operandi is its Culture Basket, a program established in 1988 by the Ministry of Education and Culture which brings arts into the schools. OLA works with local councils to incorporate a rich and varied arts education program into the school curriculum. From kindergarten to 12th grade, students are exposed to all forms of artistic expression and encouraged to develop patronage of the arts. The programs are selected each year from the OLA repertory by the school administrators and teachers. The activities are accompanied by supplemental educational material and workshops.

In March 1995, Rafi Kenan took over the reigns at OLA. His focus on the community aspect of OLA's activities led to the development of several new projects. One program sends an artist, or group of artists, to a town or neighborhood for a period of time during which the artist works with members of the community on a project in the artist's field. For example, currently a theater director and several actors from the Haifa Municipal Theater are putting together a play with a group of underprivileged youth in Tiberias for four months. Another new project, Affiliated Artists, sends artists into offices, factories, public parks or any other place where people congregate.

Recently, a delegation of American arts officials, in Israel to become acquainted with the Israeli arts scene, marveled at the idea of Omanut La'am as a vehicle for cultivating a taste for the arts across the social spectrum. Enviously eyeing the organization and its scope of activities, they appreciated the significance of such an effort in creating cultural consumers.

SPOTLIGHT

For a silent performer, Hanoch Rosenn certainly likes to chat. Asked and he willingly tells you about his new- found domesticity as a married man and the antics of his one year-old daughter, Gila; he will gab about politics, books and movies. But what really gets his vocal engines rolling is his uncanny ability to keep audiences bent over with laughter. And if he is speechless on stage, Israel's premier pantomimist is, perhaps, able to communicate like few other artists can.

Lying on his back, using only his arms and fingers, Rosenn enacts a love story between two flowers. They flirt, embrace and become passionately intertwined. When a storm kills off one, the bereft flower is left trembling in grief. Poetically evocative, it is classical mime at its best.

Rosenn, however, is not a purist. Video clips, sound tracks, dramatic lighting, his shows are a smorgasbord of special effects. "We live in a world of noise," says Rosenn, whose high-tech antics never diminish the graceful virtuosity of his lithe movements.

He likes to make people laugh. He knows it is the surest -- and quickest -- way of touching people's nerve centers. Influenced by Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin -- "I love the man" -- and of course the legendary Marcel Marceau, Rosenn says his inspiration might easily come from a line of poetry, a traffic jam, a washing machine. A keen observer of human experience, Rosenn blends allegory, satire and not a little bit of vaudeville, poking fun at the ogle-eyed MTV generation ("Now how could I do that without special effects?"); at bureaucracy; at pretensions and obsessions; at the audience and at himself.

Born in England in 1959, Rosenn was raised in Jerusalem, one of five siblings. His father, fluent in ten languages, was a simultaneous interpreter and professional translator. His mother authored books on Hebrew language instruction. "Language was so central to my home life, it's probably why I ended up with such a silent career," he says only half jokingly.

Enthralled as a teen with pantomimist Sammy Molcho, when Rosenn was 17, he performed mime on the streets of Germany after a pickpocket left him completely penniless. After recouping his losses -- and then some -- he returned to Israel to put on a one-man show at the Pargod Theater in Jerusalem. Not yet 18, Rosenn returned to Europe to study mime with Ella, one of Marceau's ex- wives, and with Decroeux, Marceau's teacher.

It was in the army, though, that Rosenn got some of his best training. Actually recruited as a uniformed pantomimist, Rosenn says it was through performing before exhausted, sometimes listless troops that he fashioned -- by necessity -- his knack of literally roping unsuspecting people on to the stage with him. In the early 1980's, kids got to know him as TV's Panto (earning Rosenn a David's Harp award) and later as Peter Pan. Already a household face, one successful show followed another.

Standing a modest five foot eight inches tall, 144 pounds thin, with a mop of shiny brown hair and engaging green eyes, it is his impudent you-can't-possibly-give-me-a- traffic-ticket grin that has become Rosenn's trademark. He cannot walk down the street in Israel without someone asking him to perform -- on the spot. That is not to say that he is an unknown abroad, either. Rosenn spends about three months a year on tour and it is simpler to ask him where he has not been than where he has -- North, South and Central America, Europe and the Far East. Rosenn has had a successful off-Broadway run in New York, been dubbed the "Marcel Marceau of the nineties" in Mexico, and so hypnotized audiences in China, "I thought I woke them from a ten-year slumber." What Rosenn likes most about pantomime is its universal appeal. "Body language knows no borders, no race, no politics," he says.

If there is nothing identifiably Israeli about his performances, Rosenn does not hide -- as he easily might -- behind an internationalist faade. Billed simply as an "Israeli mime artist," for Rosenn it is a point of pride that Israeli performers are just as modern, "in" and accomplished as their counterparts abroad.

- Shelley Kleiman

SHALOM-SALAAM

A serene 19th-century glass arboretum overlooking a lush botanical garden in the center of bustling Brussels provided the perfect setting for a tribute to the new era in Israeli-Arab relations. For three days (December 7- 10, 1995), Israeli and Arab artists converged on the Belgian capital as part of Proche-Orient: L'Art de la Paix (Near East: The Art of Peace), the brainchild of Simone Susskind, head of the Jewish-Belgian organization, Le Centre Communautaire Laic Juif , and Hussein Shaban, an Israeli Arab from Acre now living in Brussels.

With the support of three ministries of the Belgian government, the Israeli embassy, the Foreign Ministry's Division of Cultural and Scientific Affairs, the Ministry of Science and Arts and others, festival organizers brought together a wide array of artists for the occasion: Israeli Arab actor Mohammad Bakri, Technion theater professor Uriel Zohar, the Habama Theater's Israeli-Palestinian production "Cycles," the Cameri Theater's one-woman show, Naomi, and Beit Hagefen's "Hamdu and His Son."

A musical happening over the weekend showcased a mosaic of styles and cultures. Acts included the Israeli rock group, Ethnix, Bustan Abraham, Palestinian Simon Shaheen and the New York-based Israeli jazz ensemble, Esta, the Palestinian group, Sabreen, Cheb Mami from Algeria and Largo, a Belgian-Moroccan rock group. Other festival components included a film festival, round-table discussions, a panel of Arab and Israeli writers and "Local Texture," an Israeli-Arab art exhibit. Two art contests - one on peace and co-existence and the other to design the festival's poster - were held in local schools and the resulting exhibits displayed during the festival.

The Centre Communautaire Laic Juif has worked locally over the years to foster Israeli-Palestinian dialogue. Now, in a time of peace agreements, it was the hope of festival organizers to reach as diverse an audience as possible and expose them to the role of culture and artistic creation in society as a whole and in its relation to other societies. The resulting L'Art de la Paix was of a size and scope unknown previously.

Historic Week of Israeli Culture in Casablanca

One of the most exciting dividends of the Arab-Israeli normalization is the new frontiers which are so rapidly opening up before the countries of the region. An example of this kind of breakthrough was a week-long celebration of Israeli culture in Casablanca, Morocco (January 15-21). It was the first time an Israeli event of this sort was held in any Arab country.

Organized by Israel's liaison office in Rabat and by the Foreign Ministry's Division of Cultural and Scientific Affairs, the week consisted of exhibits, performances, films, even Israeli cuisine. The Vertigo dance troupe, singer Pini Hadad (accompanied by Moroccan darbuka player, Bashir al-Husseini), pantomimist Ezra Dagan and the piano and flute of Duo Jerusalem comprised the performing arts component of the event. In addition, an exhibit of prints of Jerusalem, "Mountains Round About," and the Israel Museum'"Contemporary Israeli Photography" exhibit were on display at two art galleries in Casablanca.

The Sidi Belyout Cultural Center hosted a booth of Israeli literature in French, Arabic and Mugrabi (Judeo- Arabic) translations (about 200 titles). Nili Cohen, director of the Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature, was on hand to meet with Moroccan publishers.

Every Friday for six months, as 26 Palestinian and Israeli teenagers gathered at a community center in Jaffa to learn the art of photography, two things were actually happening: young people were learning about composition and lighting but they were also learning about each other. They came from Jericho, Gaza, Ramallah, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. For many, it was their first personal contact with the other side.

The project, "Documenting Lifestyles," sponsored by the International Center for Peace in the Middle East, turned out to be much more ambitious than Hally Pancer, photographer and project creator, had initially realized. When she developed the idea for a co- existence/photography workshop, it was her hope that the teens would capture on film the nuances of their lives, the details of their own personal experiences that connect them to each other, as well as to teens around the world. Photography would be their common language. Inevitably, they would also give expression to their struggle as representatives of their peoples in conflict.

Little did Pancer realize how difficult even just the logistics of bringing such a group together would be. Weathering an unpredictable political and security situation, which often necessitated postponing classes for weeks on end, the group, led by American-Israeli Pancer and Palestinian photographer Rula Halawani, photographed and discussed their works on technical, personal and symbolic levels. Finally, at a three-day workshop at Neve Shalom, the group, assisted by Tunisian curator Michket Krifa, coalesced their individual works into a cohesive collection that reflected "the differences and similarities in the lifestyles of the two nations that are living on the same land." The exhibit was first unveiled last summer at the al-Kasaba Theater in East Jerusalem, in the presence of the Minister of Science and Arts Shulamit Aloni, and Palestinian Minister of Culture and Information Yasser Abed Rabo. It was later shown as part of the Haifa International Film Festival.

"Documenting Lifestyles" opens at the FNAC Montparnasse in Paris at the beginning of February and will be on view there until the middle of March. This will be followed by a two-year tour of other FNAC photo galleries throughout France. Plans are also in the works for an exhibition in Tunisia in the fall.

Israel and Jordan Sign Agreement on Cultural and Scientific Exchange

In accordance with Article 10 of the peace treaty between the two countries, Israel and Jordan signed an agreement paving the way for exchanges and cooperation in culture, science, technology and academia. The ceremony, which also included signing treaties on communications, maritime borders and the development of Aqaba-Eilat took place in Aqaba on January 18th. The agreement on cultural and scientific cooperation was signed, in the presence of Prime Minister Shimon Peres and Crown Prince Hassan, by Israeli Foreign Minister Ehud Barak and Jordanian Foreign Minister Abd al-Karim al-Kabariti.

Negotiated by the Division of Cultural and Scientific Affairs and its Jordanian counterpart, the agreement is automatically renewed every four years. Among other things, it calls for meetings between experts in culture, science and technology, to formulate research projects; cooperation in computerizing the educational system; exchanges in the arts, radio and television, youth groups and sport; cooperation between museums, libraries and other cultural institutions. Through the activities outlined in the agreement, Jordanians and Israelis will have the opportunity to become acquainted with each other's culture, and to share their expertise and experience.

The signing of these bilateral agreements concluded the negotiation and peace-making process and marked the beginning of implementation and peace-building.

FILM

Israeli Films to Berlin Film Festival

One of the most important events in the international film industry, the Berlin International Film Festival, is at hand. This year, two Israeli films will be screened: Yeud Levanon's documentary, "119 Bullets Three," will be part of the Forum; Uri Sivan and Ari Fulman's "Saint Clara" will participate in the non-competitive Panorama segment of the festival.

"Under the Domim Tree" a Hit at U.S. Festival

Eli Cohen's sequel to "The Summer of Aviya," "Under the Domim Tree" was selected both by the jury and the audiences of the 12th Israel Film Festival New York/Los Angeles as the best film of the festival. An Official Selection at the 1995 Cannes International Film Festival, the film has been picked up by an American distributor and will be screened commercially in major US cities beginning in April. International distribution rights have also been sold.

Jewish Film Archive on the "Net"

The Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive can now be reached at its website on the Internet. Information available at the site includes background on the archive's collection, general procedures for duplication of footage, names of local film researchers and information on commercial services. The most prominent feature of the site is the archive's catalogue, including nearly 5,000 records with lengthy analyses of each film, and relevant technical data. The Spielberg Archive's address is: http://sites.huji.ac.il/jfa/.

"119 Bullets Three" (119 cadurim + shlosha): An examination of the right-wing Jewish extremists and the great ideological divide that separates them from the rest of Israeli society, this film documents the year and a half from Dr. Baruch Goldstein's 1994 massacre of 39 Moslems praying in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron (119 bullets fired) to Yigal Amir's assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (three bullets fired). Selected for the Forum at the upcoming Berlin International Film Festival; the film received honorable mention at FIPA 1996 in Biarritz; Screened on Canada's CBC in January. Directed by Yeud Levanon. Produced by Amit Goren.

"Ever Shot Anyone?" (Yarita pa'am b'mishehu?): For 32 days, in bunkers, posts, on reconnaissance tours and in their living quarters, this documentary follows the lives of a group of Israeli military reservists based along the Syrian border in the Golan Heights. Little by little, this group of 35-45 year-old men attempts to define, in the presence of the female director who "invaded" their world, the issues in their lives such as male identity, friendship, family and women. A humorous look at the Israeli male culture through the eyes of a woman. Directed by Michal Aviad. Produced by Amit Goren.

All three of the above films will participate in the 1996 Hong Kong International Film Festival in March.

BOOKS

New Translations into Japanese

February will see the Japanese publication of an anthology tracing the development of modern Hebrew poetry. The collection of 80 poems includes works by early Hebrew poets such as Bialik, Tchernichovsky, Nathan Alterman, Leah Goldberg and Rachel, as well as the contemporary voices of Yehuda Amichai, Dahlia Ravikovitch and Meir Wieseltier, to name a few. The anthology is being produced by Shicho-Sha, one of Japan's leading poetry publishing houses.

Also in February, mystery writer Batya Gur's, "A Literary Murder," will be published in Japanese (East Press). It is the author's second book to be translated into Japanese.

Uri Orlev's book for young people, "The Man from the Otherside," was recently released in Japanese by Iwanami Shoten.

In May, the first of two novels by Aharon Appelfeld will be published in Japanese by Misuzo Shobo. The second book will be released in November. The works are "Badenheim 1939" and "The Immortal Bartfuss."

"Lovesick" Sweeps Israeli Film Academy Awards

With eight awards including Best Picture, Savi Gabison's "Lovesick" (Holei ahava beshikun gimmel) was this year's big winner at the sixth annual Israel Film Academy Awards ceremony and will be Israel's entry for the Best Foreign Film category at the Oscars. The film also garnered awards for Best Actor (Moshe Ivgi), Best Actress (Hanna Azoulai-Hasfari) and Gabison won for Best Screenplay and Best Director. Eli Cohen's "Under the Domim Tree" (Etz hadomim tafus) received awards for Best Cinematography (David Gurfinkle), art direction and costume design.

Esti Zackheim won the Best Supporting Actress award for her part in "Passover Fever" (Leil ha-seder). Veteran actor Shmulik Segal received the award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in "Actors" (Sah'kanim).

In the documentary film category, Julie Shles' Baba Luba beat out 12 other films for the honor of Best Documentary. David Ofek and Yossi Madmoni's Bat Yam-New York, a touching series of video letters between members of an Iraqi-Israeli family in Bat Yam and New York, was recognized as the best original television drama.

Film maker David Perlov received the prestigious Lifetime Recognition Award and producer Matti Raz received a special award for his professional achievements.

The ceremony took place in the presence of the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Minister of Trade and Industry Micha Harish, Minister of Arts and Science Shulamit Aloni and the Mayor of Tel Aviv, Roni Milo.

One of Shakespeare's earliest plays, and his first comedy, Comedy of Errors found a fresh and contemporary revival in the Cameri Theater's newly staged production. Translator Dan Almagor breathed Middle Eastern life into his version which takes place in a war-ravaged town in Lebanon. With witty allusions to actual events of today, a belly-dancing town prostitute and a kaffiah-clad governor, the comedy comfortably fits the reality and chaos of the region. Kobi Oz, lead singer of the rock group Tea Packs, composed music rich with local flavor. Artistic director Omri Nitzan directed the dizzying antics of the two pairs of twins separated at birth. The play concludes with a collage from Shakespeare's Henry IV, Coriolanus and Richard III on the subject of war and peace, and the timely moral that "in war, there is victory, but there is always the vanquished - with peace, all are the victors." The production is also performed with simultaneous English translation.

CULTURE BRIEFS

Israeli artist, Dani Karavan, is the 1996 recipient of the Kaiser Ring prize in Goslar, Germany. As winner of one of the most prestigious honors in the field of plastic arts, Karavan joins a select group of laureates that includes some of the finest modern and contemporary artists in the world: Henry Moore, Christo, Alexander Calder, Max Ernst, Willem de Kooning and others. As a sculptor and environmental artist, Karavan has worked extensively in Europe, and of late also in Japan and Korea. Among their reasons, the judges cited Karavan's unique contribution to art for public spaces, rather than for museums or private collections. The illustrious, non- monetary prize will be awarded to Karavan in October. He has also been invited to create an environmental sculpture for the City of Goslar. (photo)

1994 Statistics Show Strong Israeli Attendance at Local Cultural Events

According to new statistics released by the Center for Cultural Information and Research of the National Council of Art and Culture, 86% of the population attends at least one Israeli show (play/concert/dance performance) per year. About 36% of the adult population in Israel attends the theater at least once, 61% attends at least one concert and about 57% attends at least one performance a year. Similarly, over 6 million visits to local museums were recorded. The 41 arts festivals held in 1994 witnessed a considerable rise in attendance, from 1,924,000 in 1993 to 4,840,000 last year. (Based on information from "Facts and Figures 1994").

The National Theater for Children and Youth in Israel celebrates its 25th anniversary four short years after the company was temporarily forced to close its debt- ridden doors and suspend activity. Today, it is a vibrant, productive theater group that performed 706 shows last year before 300,000 youngsters around the country. Based at the Suzanne Dellal Center in Tel Aviv, the company was founded in 1970 by actress Orna Porat and then Minister of Education Yigal Allon. The company strives to acquaint all the children in Israel with the art of the theater, impart aesthetic and artistic values, and educate on social issues such as AIDS. The repertory spans the spectrum from the classics to original Israeli productions mounted by some of the country's best playwrights, directors and actors.