Israeli actor Rami Baruch said he will not perform at a new cultural center in Kiryat Arba, a Jewish suburb of Hebron.
Baruch, who was scheduled to perform his play “Pollard” at the cultural center’s opening Monday, Sept. 19, announced his decision Sept. 11, saying that according to his contract with the Cameri Theater he does not have to perform in the West Bank.
“I made a decision, understanding that it could lead to financial ramifications and counter-boycotts,” Baruch said. “Kiryat Arba is where Baruch Goldstein and Kahane came from, and I asked myself what is my place in this whole story.”
Baruch portrays jailed American spy for Israel Jonathan Pollard. Noam Semel, director of the Cameri Theater in Tel Aviv, said the theater would deal with the matter internally.
The center was built with public funds from three Israeli government ministries, as well as from private donations.
Theater professionals signed a petition a year ago stating that they would not perform in a new cultural center in the West Bank city of Ariel that was built with more than $10 million in public funds. The boycott spurred a controversial Israeli boycott law that would allow for civil lawsuits against individuals and groups calling for anti-Israel boycotts. — jta