April 2, 2009

Stephen M. Flatow on Caryl Churchill's "Seven Jewish Children: A Play for Gaza"

Stephen M. Flatow, whose daughter, Alisa, was killed in April 1995 by Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza, shares his view on Caryl Churchill and Seven Jewish Children: A Play for Gaza: "If you think the play is about little Jewish children, about how they live and go about their lives, you would be wrong. As its subtitle strongly signals, Churchill's take on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict isn't balanced; one has only to read it to see the anti-Semitism disguised within its anti-Zionism." Like Jeffrey Goldberg, Flatow disapproves of a Jewish theater company's decision to stage a reading of this play: "Presenting innovative theater is one thing; assisting in the advancement of an anti-Semitic agenda is another. Absent balance and context, Seven Jewish Children is nothing more than cheap art; it belongs on the garbage heap."

No comments: