As Kiryat Arba's new cultural center prepares to open to audiences on Monday, left-wing actors and public figures are calling for a boycott. Several prominent members of Israel's theater industry have said that Kiryat Arba's status as a settlement, located near Hebron and beyond the Green Line, renders it beyong the pale. More than 500 artists have signed a petition calling to boycott the new venue. Construction of the 400-seat Kiryat Arba Cultural Center took several years. Once it opens, it will host cultural events, plays and travelling performances from Israel's leading theaters, including the Cameri and Beit Lessin. Israeli playwrights and actors who have signed the petition include Savyon Liebrecht, Anat Gov, Yehoshua Sobol, Itay Tiran and Edna Mazya. "Cultural activities should not take place in settlements, especially one that has built a grandiose park in the memory of [Meir] Kahane (an ultra-nationalist political figure) and where Baruch Goldstein (perpetrator of the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre in 1994) is buried," said dramaturge Vardit Shalfy, one of the boycott leaders. "We hope that theater companies will come to their senses and decide at the last minute to not perform. Our strength lies in our power of persuasion and we are pleased that the initiative is starting to catch on." Get the Israel Hayom newsletter sent to your mailbox! In addition, leading Israeli actor Rami Baruch announced last week that his conscience would not allow him to perform at Kiryat Arba's cultural center. Baruch was supposed to portray convicted American spy Jonathan Pollard in the travelling play "Pollard." Community members, for their part, have hailed the cultural center's launch. "Kiryat Arba-Hebron will now make its mark on the cultural map and serve as a cultural hub, hosting a wide range of performing arts," said Malachi Levinger, head of the local Kiryat Arba-Hebron Council. "The center will provide residents with an opportunity to see performances and plays locally, rather than having to drive many kilometers to so do." "The Cameri and Beit Lessin Theaters will do their utmost to produce plays at the cultural center in Kiryat Arba," said a joint statement released by the theaters. "Yet theater management will not force technicians or actors to work there if they have indicated their objection. The Cameri and Beit Lessin theaters will coordinate their position on the issue of performing in Kiryat Arba together with other theaters."
