Following weeks of controversy, Israel's Habima national theater performed its production of Israeli Nobel Laureate S. Y. Agnon's "A Simple Story" at a cultural center in Kiryat Arba, on the outskirts of Hebron, Thursday. Habima's decision to perform in Kiryat Arba was met with calls on the Left for the theater's management to cancel the performance. On the Right, supporters sent letters commending the move. Around 350 people attended the performance, including Culture Minister Miri Regev and MK Yehuda Glick, both of the Likud party. Prior to the performance, Regev congratulated the actors and the audience. "I am happy that tonight we will see here in Hebron four actors who did not give in to pressure from the organization Breaking the Silence, which tried, until the last minute, to prevent them from performing here," she said. "I am ashamed every time I see how human rights organizations, who extol equality and respect for others ... systematically trample on the rights of the residents of Judea and Samaria and work to revoke their right to be cultural consumers. No one here is a second-class citizen," she said. According to Regev, "Revoking the right of our dear residents of Judea and Samaria from enjoying Israeli culture and creativity -- that is a violation of equality." Habima actress Yevgenia Dudina, who was invited by the left-wing group Breaking the Silence on a tour of the area, arrived in Hebron early. Members of the advocacy group, dedicated to exposing alleged wrongdoings by the IDF, tried to explain their position to her, but they were repeatedly interrupted by right-wing activists Baruch Marzel and Itamar Ben-Gvir. In a statement, Breaking the Silence said, "The occupation is not a performance. Hebron is a city, not a theater -- and the victims do not come up to take a bow after dying on the stage." Regev responded by saying, "The Breaking the Silence organization is terrorizing the national theater -- I will defend it and the actors."
