Two years ago [September 2011] the cultural center in the West Bank settlement Kiryat Arba opened its doors. About 500 Israeli artists and performers signed a petition to refuse to perform there. In a letter accompanying the petition, the signatories wrote, “Kiryat Arba is an especially extremist and violent settlement, from which Baruch Goldstein set out on his mass-murder journey. We call on directors of theaters to hold their theatrical productions within the bounds of the Green Line and in the sovereign territory of the state of Israel.”

The petition was a direct continuation of a similar struggle that began in advance of the opening of the cultural center in Ariel in November 2010. Then the theater directors dealt with a less thorny problem, since Ariel is not perceived by the Israeli public as an isolated settlement, and its settlers are not extreme in their opinions or deeds. Most of them did not settle there for ideological reasons, but to improve their quality of life and buy an apartment or house at a significantly cheaper price than they could within the Green Line.

For artists and theater directors, it was clear that the real fight would start once the cultural center at Kiryat Arba opened — a place where the movement of tens of thousands of Palestinians is restricted to ensure the security and daily routines of its about 7,000 Jewish residents. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and military police watchtowers secure the points of tension between the populations. The homes of Palestinian residents of Hebron that are on the walking route between Kiryat Arba and the Cave of the Patriarchs have been sealed off. Their stores have been shuttered, and a handful of Jewish settlers embitter their lives.

The artists’ petition drew much condemnation and especially succeeded in angering Minister of Culture (then and now) Limor Livnat. In Israel, theaters receive budgetary support from the government, as do cinematic productions. Many argued that a body funded by the state could not or should not be allowed to choose where to perform, and whoever chose to oppose this should give up government funding. On the other side, voices were heard that spoke to the conscience of artists, their worldview, as private individuals with an ethical stance, first and foremost, intellectuals and not public servants. In response to the artists’ rebellion, Livnat founded the “Zionist Art Prize,” presented to artists in all fields for work in the field of Zionism, Zionist values, the history of the Zionist movement and the return of the Jewish people to their historic homeland.