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Join Jewish Federation of the Berkshires in partnership with Shakespeare & Company for a FREE  Knosh and Knowledge discussion of Israeli theater with Michal Peles-Almagor, a Postdoctoral fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Research Fellow and Tel Aviv University, where she teaches literature and theater arts.

What does it mean to assemble in the theater today? Dr. Almagor turns to Israeli theater to consider how theater reflects on and contributes to social and cultural debates in a time of war.

Ranging from 1948 through October 7th, three works mark the arc: Moshe Shamir's He Walked Through the Fields (1948), the first play performed at the Cameri Theater, which forged the mythology of the Israeli soldier-hero at the moment of the state's birth; Hanoch Levin's Queen of a Bathtub (1970), which shattered that myth and scandalized the nation; and Maya Arad Yasur's How to Remain a Humanist after a Massacre in 17 Steps (2023), written one week after the massacre of October 7th.

But as the presentation will show, the ethical space of the theater took shape beyond the stage. The most powerful theatrical event emerged not in any closed hall but in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv: a sustained public act of mourning, demand, and witness, transforming the public square into a Greek polis, where theater was a site for ethical, social, and political debate. Theatricality has not disappeared. It has simply shifted to match the needs of the era, bringing people together.

Federation's Knosh and Knowledge programs are held throughout the year.