An Israeli Love Story
Encyclopedia
An Israeli Love Story is a play translated from the Hebrew play Sippur Ahava Eretz-Yisraeli.
It premiered in 2008 and still runs in repertory
at Tel Aviv
's Givatayim Theater
and Cameri Theater
.
The play was written and directed by Pnina Gary and is based on her own true life story during the period between 1942 through 1948.
The one-woman show is performed by Adi Bielski
, who won the Israeli
"Best Actress" Award in Fringe Theater in 2009 for this multi-character role.
On March 28, 2011, a special evening marked the celebrating of 250 shows. Attending that evening, were the Israeli Minister of Culture
, Mrs Limor Livnat
, and the recent winner of the Israeli "Sapir Prize for Literature" 2011, the writer Yoram Kaniuk
.
The play was performed in English
at "The Leeds
Jewish International Performing Arts Festival" in 2009, at London
's "New End Theatre
" on May 18 to June 6, 2010, and at the National Arts Centre
in Ottawa
as well as Montreal
, Toronto
and Washington DC in September 2011.
"Eretz" means "land" or "country", and it's probably the origin of the English word "Earth". "Eretz-Israel" ("Land of Israel
") is the ancient and traditional name used by the Jewish people for their homeland, while the rest of the world referred to it as "Palestine
". The name "Palestine" was given to the country after Bar-Kokhva's revolt
in 135 AD, by the Roman Emperor
Hadrian
. In an attempt to erase any memory of Judea
, he wiped the name off the map and replaced it with "Syria Palaestina
" (after the Philistines
), supplanting the earlier "Judaea
". The term "Eretz-Israel" has been used ever since the loss of sovereignty, therefore, the name of the play implies that the story takes place in Palestine
before the establishment of the State of Israel
in 1948.
Nahalal
, is on her way to the youth seminar in Jerusalem. On the bus she meets Ami, a student at "Kaduri" Agricultural High School. After Ami gets off the bus, Margalit cannot stop thinking about him.
Six months later, Margalit meets Ami again, this time at her Moshav, Nahalal. He’s a soldier in the Palmach
now (the Palmach was the British
-founded Brigade, which later spearheaded the unofficial Jewish army of pre-state Israel). His Jeep
has broken down and Margalit invites him to sleep over at her house. He leaves the next morning.
A year has passed and Margalit is sent by the Nahalal’s culture committee to the Youth Instructors Seminar in Kibbutz Yagur
. Outside the dining room, she suddenly spots Ami, with another girl. She fails to avoid them. Ami tells Margalit he has been stationed there by the Palmach and introduces his girlfriend. Margalit seems to be out of luck.
In 1945 World War II
ends with mixed emotions. Along with the joy of victory, there’s also the realization of the catastrophe, the Holocaust
. The Tzfonis’ relatives in Paris
were taken to Auschwitz, and no sign of life is received from the extended family in Russia
.
The policy of the White Paper
resulted in Holocaust survivors fleeing from Europe
, being treated as Illegal immigrants. The increasing flood of “Aliyah
” generates a need for more schools and kindergartens. So, at 18, Margalit goes to the Seminar for Kindergarten teachers in Tel-Aviv. She resides in a shack with two roommates, and works for a family, both as a nanny, and a housecleaner.
One day, on the bus to the seminar, Margalit encounters Ami. Again. He tells her, that he has separated from the girl from Yagur, and co founded a new Kibbutz
, “Beit Keshet
” in the Lower Galilee. Margalit uses the opportunity and invites him to Yafa Gustin
’s performance at a club in Giv’atayim. When she alights the bus, immediately after Ami told her he was busy and couldn’t join her, his friend Motke asks her out. When she declines the offer, he informs her that Ami has a new girlfriend, a new immigrant from Hungary
.
Margalit cries her heart out to her roommate, Mikhal, who excitedly mentions that her cousin is a member of Beit Keshet. She comes up with a scheme. She will visit her cousin during the Passover
holiday and bring Margalit with, for company.
At Beit Keshet, Margalit is happy to hear from Mikhal’s cousin, that there are vacant beds in his room, and that his roommate is some guy called Ami Ben-Avraham.
In a Kibbutz, guests take part in the work, and Margalit is sent to work in the kitchen. On her way to the showers, she bumps into Ami and decides to try one last time. She asks him to drive her, on his motorcycle
, to a Passover party in Nahalal. Ami agrees. After the party, he tells her that he is finished with his Hungarian immigrant girlfriend, and kisses her for the first time.
In Beit Keshet, On the nearby hill under the Carob tree, Ami shows Margalit the surrounding view. Mount Tavor
, the mountains of Gil’ad
and Mount Hermon
. He points at the houses of the local Bedouin
tribe and tells her that their leader, Sheikh
Abu-Nimer, is a friend of his father and always declares that he is Ami’s brother. Under that tree, Ami asks Margalit to marry him. The wedding date is set for Purim
.
In the mean time, the UN resolution for the partition of Palestine on November 29, 1947 marks the beginning of a civil war between the Arabs and the Jews of Palestine
, as the following morning the Arabs attack after a night of Jewish celebrations. The Jews are compelled to travel in armored vehicles, as the roads are mostly under Arab control.
It's now 1948 and Margalit has difficulty adapting to the communal life of the Kibbutz, where everything is shared among the members. But Ami makes it very clear. The Kibbutz reflects everything he believes in and he is never going to leave it. Nevertheless, he asks and receives a “family room”, just for them.
As the preparations for the wedding are in progress in Nahalal, back in Beit Keshet, a friend of Ami tells him that the Arabs’ cows are grazing in Beit Keshet's fields, up on the hill near the Carob tree. Ami gathers a few of his friends to drive the cows out of the Kibbutz’s fields. In Nahalal, when Margalit comes back from work at the kindergarten, she is told that Beit Keshet is under attack. After driving in an armored car, through road barriers, in the pouring rain, she reaches Beit Keshet, only to learn that the cows were just bait. They were sent there by Sheikh Abu-Nimer to lure the Kibbutz’s men into an ambush. Seven of Beit-Keshets men were gunned down. It was supposed to be Ami and Margalit's wedding day.
in 1919.
Gary went to Nahalal’s Agricultural High School, and later attended the teachers’ seminar to become a kindergarten teacher.
In September 1948, trying to recover from the outcome of the Beit Keshet battle, she volunteered to participate in an expedition of teachers to the DP camps around Munich
. She was sent to help set up kindergartens in the camps and work with Jewish children who survived the Holocaust.
In Munich she met her husband, Robert Gary, a Jewish-American journalist, who reported from the camps. They married in late 1949 and had two daughters, Dorit and Meirav.
After their wedding, Pnina & Bob moved to Israel, where she wrote a weekly column for Davar
newspaper for a period of two years.
From 1953 through 1957 Gary studied acting in New-York, in the private schools of Herbert Berghof
and Lee Strasberg
, and took lessons in the Actors Studio
.
After their return to Israel, in 1959 Gary co founded the “Zavit” Theater, which was active for nine years. During those years, she acted in various theater shows produced by other theaters in Tel Aviv.
In 1968 Gary joined “HaBima” as an actress, until 1980. From 1981 through 1990 she was the artistic director
of the “Orna Porat
” Theater.
Gary also adapted Israeli novels to theater. The novels are by the most renowned Israeli novelists: Amos Oz
, Sami Michael
, Shulamit Lapid and Tzruya Shalev
.
Pnina Gary's movie appearances as an actress include: "Dreams" (1969), "Death Has No Friends" (1970), "Ariana" (1971) and the BBC's "A Dinner of Herbs" (1988).
In 2006 she received an award for her life’s work from both the Israeli Ministry of Culture & Education
and ASSITEJ
.
It premiered in 2008 and still runs in repertory
Repertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
at Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
's Givatayim Theater
Givatayim Theater
Givatayim Theater is a theater and center for the arts in Givatayim, Israel.The deconstructivist building, by architects Bracha Chyutin and Michael Chyutin won the Israeli Rechter Prize for architecture in 1996....
and Cameri Theater
Cameri Theater
The Cameri Theater , established in 1944 in Tel Aviv, is one of the leading theaters in Israel, and is housed at the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center....
.
The play was written and directed by Pnina Gary and is based on her own true life story during the period between 1942 through 1948.
The one-woman show is performed by Adi Bielski
Adi Bielski
Adi Bielski is an Israeli Theatre and Movie actress. She was born in Jerusalem and raised in Ra’anana.In 2009 she married the actor Yaniv Adani, and in 2010 gave birth to their son, Lavi.-Professional training:...
, who won the Israeli
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
"Best Actress" Award in Fringe Theater in 2009 for this multi-character role.
On March 28, 2011, a special evening marked the celebrating of 250 shows. Attending that evening, were the Israeli Minister of Culture
Culture and Sport Minister of Israel
The Culture and Sport Minister of Israel is a new and relatively minor position in the Israeli cabinet. Previously culture and sport had been part of other ministerial portfolios; between 1949 and 1999, and again from 2003 until 2006, culture was part of the Education Minister portfolio. Similarly,...
, Mrs Limor Livnat
Limor Livnat
is an Israeli politician who currently serves as a member of the Knesset for Likud, and as the country's Minister of Culture & Sport.-Biography:Born in Haifa, Livnat is the only member of Knesset not to have a secondary education...
, and the recent winner of the Israeli "Sapir Prize for Literature" 2011, the writer Yoram Kaniuk
Yoram Kaniuk
Yoram Kaniuk is an Israeli writer, painter, journalist, and theater critic.-Biography:Yoram Kaniuk was born in Tel Aviv. His father, Moshe Kaniuk, born in Ternopil, Galicia , was the first curator of Tel Aviv Museum of Art. His grandfather was a Hebrew teacher who wrote his own textbooks....
.
The play was performed in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
at "The Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
Jewish International Performing Arts Festival" in 2009, at London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's "New End Theatre
New End Theatre
The New End Theatre, Hampstead, was a 80-seat fringe theatre venue in London, England, located in the London Borough of Camden which operated from 1974 until 2011. It was listed widely on the internet, including with the New York Times....
" on May 18 to June 6, 2010, and at the National Arts Centre
National Arts Centre
The National Arts Centre is a centre for the performing arts located in Ottawa, Ontario, between Elgin Street and the Rideau Canal...
in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
as well as Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and Washington DC in September 2011.
The title
The play was translated from the Hebrew play Sippur Ahava Eretz-Israeli, which literally means "An Eretz-Israeli Love Story"."Eretz" means "land" or "country", and it's probably the origin of the English word "Earth". "Eretz-Israel" ("Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
") is the ancient and traditional name used by the Jewish people for their homeland, while the rest of the world referred to it as "Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
". The name "Palestine" was given to the country after Bar-Kokhva's revolt
Bar Kokhba's revolt
The Bar Kokhba revolt 132–136 CE; or mered bar kokhba) against the Roman Empire, was the third major rebellion by the Jews of Judaea Province being the last of the Jewish-Roman Wars. Simon bar Kokhba, the commander of the revolt, was acclaimed as a Messiah, a heroic figure who could restore Israel...
in 135 AD, by the Roman Emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
Hadrian
Hadrian
Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...
. In an attempt to erase any memory of Judea
Judea
Judea or Judæa was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.-Etymology:The...
, he wiped the name off the map and replaced it with "Syria Palaestina
Syria Palaestina
Syria Palæstina was a Roman province between 135CE and 390CE. It had been established by the merge of Roman Syria and Roman Judaea, following the defeat of the Bar Kokhba Revolt in 135 CE. In 193 Syria-Coele was split to form a separate provincial locality...
" (after the Philistines
Philistines
Philistines , Pleshet or Peleset, were a people who occupied the southern coast of Canaan at the beginning of the Iron Age . According to the Bible, they ruled the five city-states of Gaza, Askelon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gath, from the Wadi Gaza in the south to the Yarqon River in the north, but with...
), supplanting the earlier "Judaea
Judaea (Roman province)
Judaea or Iudaea are terms used by historians to refer to the Roman province that extended over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of Israel...
". The term "Eretz-Israel" has been used ever since the loss of sovereignty, therefore, the name of the play implies that the story takes place in Palestine
Mandate Palestine
Mandate Palestine existed while the British Mandate for Palestine, which formally began in September 1923 and terminated in May 1948, was in effect...
before the establishment of the State of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in 1948.
Synopsis
The story begins in the summer of 1942. Margalit, a young and vibrant girl, along with her two friends from MoshavMoshav
Moshav is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists during the second aliyah...
Nahalal
Nahalal
-External links:** UNESCO* Jewish Agency for Israel*, "Jews made a garden" - aerial photo of Nahalal , and a girl from Girls' Agricultural Training Farm , at Google Books....
, is on her way to the youth seminar in Jerusalem. On the bus she meets Ami, a student at "Kaduri" Agricultural High School. After Ami gets off the bus, Margalit cannot stop thinking about him.
Six months later, Margalit meets Ami again, this time at her Moshav, Nahalal. He’s a soldier in the Palmach
Palmach
The Palmach was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...
now (the Palmach was the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-founded Brigade, which later spearheaded the unofficial Jewish army of pre-state Israel). His Jeep
Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...
has broken down and Margalit invites him to sleep over at her house. He leaves the next morning.
A year has passed and Margalit is sent by the Nahalal’s culture committee to the Youth Instructors Seminar in Kibbutz Yagur
Yagur
Yagur is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located on the slopes of Mount Carmel about 9 km southeast of Haifa, it is one of the two largest kibbutzim in the country, with a population of 1,124 in 2008. It falls under the jurisdiction of Zevulun Regional Council....
. Outside the dining room, she suddenly spots Ami, with another girl. She fails to avoid them. Ami tells Margalit he has been stationed there by the Palmach and introduces his girlfriend. Margalit seems to be out of luck.
In 1945 World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
ends with mixed emotions. Along with the joy of victory, there’s also the realization of the catastrophe, the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
. The Tzfonis’ relatives in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
were taken to Auschwitz, and no sign of life is received from the extended family in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
The policy of the White Paper
White Paper of 1939
The White Paper of 1939, also known as the MacDonald White Paper after Malcolm MacDonald, the British Colonial Secretary who presided over it, was a policy paper issued by the British government under Neville Chamberlain in which the idea of partitioning the Mandate for Palestine, as recommended in...
resulted in Holocaust survivors fleeing from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, being treated as Illegal immigrants. The increasing flood of “Aliyah
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
” generates a need for more schools and kindergartens. So, at 18, Margalit goes to the Seminar for Kindergarten teachers in Tel-Aviv. She resides in a shack with two roommates, and works for a family, both as a nanny, and a housecleaner.
One day, on the bus to the seminar, Margalit encounters Ami. Again. He tells her, that he has separated from the girl from Yagur, and co founded a new Kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
, “Beit Keshet
Beit Keshet
Beit Keshet |Bow]]) is a kibbutz in the Lower Galilee, Israel.Founded in 1944, Beit Keshet was established by HaNoar HaOved graduates who were trained at the Kfar Tabor Agricultural School...
” in the Lower Galilee. Margalit uses the opportunity and invites him to Yafa Gustin
Yafa Yarkoni
-External links:*Nathan Shahar, , Jewish Women Encyclopedia-See also:*List of Israel Prize recipients...
’s performance at a club in Giv’atayim. When she alights the bus, immediately after Ami told her he was busy and couldn’t join her, his friend Motke asks her out. When she declines the offer, he informs her that Ami has a new girlfriend, a new immigrant from Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
.
Margalit cries her heart out to her roommate, Mikhal, who excitedly mentions that her cousin is a member of Beit Keshet. She comes up with a scheme. She will visit her cousin during the Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
holiday and bring Margalit with, for company.
At Beit Keshet, Margalit is happy to hear from Mikhal’s cousin, that there are vacant beds in his room, and that his roommate is some guy called Ami Ben-Avraham.
In a Kibbutz, guests take part in the work, and Margalit is sent to work in the kitchen. On her way to the showers, she bumps into Ami and decides to try one last time. She asks him to drive her, on his motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
, to a Passover party in Nahalal. Ami agrees. After the party, he tells her that he is finished with his Hungarian immigrant girlfriend, and kisses her for the first time.
In Beit Keshet, On the nearby hill under the Carob tree, Ami shows Margalit the surrounding view. Mount Tavor
Mount Tabor
-Places:*Mount Tabor, a hill in Israel near Nazareth believed by many to be the site of the Transfiguration of ChristIn the United States:*Mount Tabor, Indiana, an unincorporated community...
, the mountains of Gil’ad
Gilead
In the Bible "Gilead" means hill of testimony or mound of witness, , a mountainous region east of the Jordan River, situated in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It is also referred to by the Aramaic name Yegar-Sahadutha, which carries the same meaning as the Hebrew . From its mountainous character...
and Mount Hermon
Mount Hermon
Mount Hermon is a mountain cluster in the Anti-Lebanon mountain range. Its summit straddles the border between Syria and Lebanon and, at 2,814 m above sea level, is the highest point in Syria. On the top there is “Hermon Hotel”, in the buffer zone between Syria and Israeli-occupied...
. He points at the houses of the local Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
tribe and tells her that their leader, Sheikh
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
Abu-Nimer, is a friend of his father and always declares that he is Ami’s brother. Under that tree, Ami asks Margalit to marry him. The wedding date is set for Purim
Purim
Purim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from destruction in the wake of a plot by Haman, a story recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther .Purim is celebrated annually according to the Hebrew calendar on the 14th...
.
In the mean time, the UN resolution for the partition of Palestine on November 29, 1947 marks the beginning of a civil war between the Arabs and the Jews of Palestine
Palestine (mandate)
The British Mandate for Palestine, also known as the Palestine Mandate, The British Mandate of Palestine and the Mandate for Palestine, was a legal commission for the administration of Palestine, the draft of which was formally confirmed by the Council of the League of Nations on 24 July 1922 and...
, as the following morning the Arabs attack after a night of Jewish celebrations. The Jews are compelled to travel in armored vehicles, as the roads are mostly under Arab control.
It's now 1948 and Margalit has difficulty adapting to the communal life of the Kibbutz, where everything is shared among the members. But Ami makes it very clear. The Kibbutz reflects everything he believes in and he is never going to leave it. Nevertheless, he asks and receives a “family room”, just for them.
As the preparations for the wedding are in progress in Nahalal, back in Beit Keshet, a friend of Ami tells him that the Arabs’ cows are grazing in Beit Keshet's fields, up on the hill near the Carob tree. Ami gathers a few of his friends to drive the cows out of the Kibbutz’s fields. In Nahalal, when Margalit comes back from work at the kindergarten, she is told that Beit Keshet is under attack. After driving in an armored car, through road barriers, in the pouring rain, she reaches Beit Keshet, only to learn that the cows were just bait. They were sent there by Sheikh Abu-Nimer to lure the Kibbutz’s men into an ambush. Seven of Beit-Keshets men were gunned down. It was supposed to be Ami and Margalit's wedding day.
Radio newscasts
Radio "newscasts" are heard throughout the play, which provide important historical background to the plot:- 1942, November 4 - The Victory at El AlameinSecond Battle of El AlameinThe Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...
. The threat of Nazi invasion of Eretz-Israel has been thwarted. - 1943, November 28 - Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
, Joseph StalinJoseph StalinJoseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
& Winston ChurchillWinston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
decided in Teheran on the timetable for the invasion of EuropeOperation OverlordOperation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
. - 1945, May 8 - GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
has surrendered. - 1945, September 27 - Ben-Gurion demands that the British Government abolish the "White PaperWhite Paper of 1939The White Paper of 1939, also known as the MacDonald White Paper after Malcolm MacDonald, the British Colonial Secretary who presided over it, was a policy paper issued by the British government under Neville Chamberlain in which the idea of partitioning the Mandate for Palestine, as recommended in...
" which forbids Jewish immigration to Eretz-Israel, and to allocate 100,000 certificates to the survivors of the death camps. - 1946, June 29 - "The Black SabbathOperation AgathaOperation Agatha sometimes called Black Shabbat or Black Saturday because it began on the Jewish sabbath, was a police and military operation conducted by the British authorities in the British Mandate of Palestine...
". The British army raided many towns and Kibbutzim to uncover weapon caches. Tel-Aviv & Jerusalem have been placed under military curfew. 2718 people were arrested, including Moshe Shertok. - 1947, July 20 - The Illegal immigrant ship "Exodus 1947" with its 4550 Holocaust survivors, has been captured by the British and sent back to Germany.
- 1947, November 29 - The United Nations General AssemblyUnited Nations General AssemblyFor two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
confirmed the partition of Palestine. The Jews will receive 55%: the NegevNegevThe Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
desert, the coast line and the eastern GalileeGalileeGalilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
. The Arabs will receive the rest. Jerusalem shall remain under international supervision. - 1948, January 10 - Syrian forces are attacking in the north. Also under attack is Kibbutz Ramat RachelRamat RachelRamat Rachel is a kibbutz located south of Jerusalem in Israel, as an enclave within Jerusalem's municipal boundaries. Overlooking Bethlehem and Rachel's Tomb and situated within the Green Line, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council...
near Jerusalem. 35 "Palmach" fightersConvoy of 35The Convoy of 35 refers to 35 soldiers of the Haganah who were killed while attempting to resupply and or reinforce the Gush Etzion kibbutzim by foot on January 16, 1948, after a number of convoys had been attacked during the early stages of the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine.- Attack...
were killed on their way to besieged Gush EtzionGush EtzionGush Etzion is a cluster of Israeli settlements located in the Judaean Mountains directly south of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the West Bank, Palestinian territories. The core group includes four agricultural villages that were founded in 1940-1947 on property purchased in the 1920s and 1930s, and ...
.
Characters
- Margalit Tzfoni - The pseudonymPseudonymA pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
for Pnina Dromi, maiden name of Pnina Gary herself. - Ami Ben-Avraham - The pseudonym for 'Eli Ben-Zvi.
- Ami's mother - Rachel.
- Yosef Tzfoni - Margalit's father, pseudonym for Yosef Dromi.
- Tzipora - Margalit's mother.
- Karasik - The pessimistic neighbour of the Tzfonis in Nahalal.
- Freudenberg - The GermanGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-born member of Nahalal's culture committee. - Mishka - The jovial, nosey, Yiddish speaking mail carrier of Nahalal.
- Hagai - A friend from Nahalal and a student in "Kaduri".
- Efrayim - A former-immigrant instructor at the youth instructors' seminar.
- Mikhal - Margalit's roommate at the teachers' seminar in Tel-Aviv.
- Motke - Ami's friend from Kibbutz Beit KeshetBeit KeshetBeit Keshet |Bow]]) is a kibbutz in the Lower Galilee, Israel.Founded in 1944, Beit Keshet was established by HaNoar HaOved graduates who were trained at the Kfar Tabor Agricultural School...
- Mikhal's cousin - Ami's roommate in Beit Keshet.
- Efi - Beit Keshet's secretary of internal affairs, pseudonym for Sefi Kaspi.
- A Woman opposed to accepting wedding presents in the Kibbutz.
- A Man in favor of accepting wedding presents in the Kibbutz.
- Rivka - volunteeres to supervise the rotation of the wedding presents.
- Haim Guri - Ami's friend from "Kaduri".
- Shoshik - Ami's jealous female roommate in Beit Keshet.
- Ruth - Ruth DayanRuth DayanRuth Dayan was married to the Israeli general and defense minister Moshe Dayan. She founded the Maskit fashion house and is active in many social causes.-Biography:...
, The good neighbour in Nahalal and Moshe DayanMoshe DayanMoshe Dayan was an Israeli military leader and politician. The fourth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces , he became a fighting symbol to the world of the new State of Israel...
's wife. - A Guy who carries the bed delivered to Ami & Margalit.
- A Friend who tells Ami about the Arabs' cows grazing in Beit-Keshet's fields.
- Efi's mother
- Ami's father - Yitzhak Ben-ZviYitzhak Ben-ZviYitzhak Ben-Zvi was a historian, Labor Zionist leader, the second and longest-serving President of Israel.-Biography:...
.
Pnina Gary
Pnina Gary was born in 1927, in Nahalal, Israel, as Pnina Dromi, daughter of Yosef Kotlar and Tzipora Ostrowski. Her parents made “Aliyah” from the UkraineUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
in 1919.
Gary went to Nahalal’s Agricultural High School, and later attended the teachers’ seminar to become a kindergarten teacher.
In September 1948, trying to recover from the outcome of the Beit Keshet battle, she volunteered to participate in an expedition of teachers to the DP camps around Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. She was sent to help set up kindergartens in the camps and work with Jewish children who survived the Holocaust.
In Munich she met her husband, Robert Gary, a Jewish-American journalist, who reported from the camps. They married in late 1949 and had two daughters, Dorit and Meirav.
After their wedding, Pnina & Bob moved to Israel, where she wrote a weekly column for Davar
Davar
Davar was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in the Mandate Palestine and Israel between 1925 and May 1996.-History:Davar was established by Moshe Beilinson and Berl Katznelson, with Katznelson as its first editor. The first edition was published on 1 June 1925 under the name Davar - Iton...
newspaper for a period of two years.
From 1953 through 1957 Gary studied acting in New-York, in the private schools of Herbert Berghof
Herbert Berghof
Herbert Berghof was an Austrian American actor, director and acting coach. He co-founded HB Studio in New York City with his wife Uta Hagen in 1945...
and Lee Strasberg
Lee Strasberg
Lee Strasberg was an American actor, director and acting teacher. He cofounded, with directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed as "America's first true theatrical collective"...
, and took lessons in the Actors Studio
Actors Studio
The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street in the Clinton neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded October 5, 1947, by Elia Kazan, Cheryl Crawford, Robert Lewis and Anna Sokolow who provided...
.
After their return to Israel, in 1959 Gary co founded the “Zavit” Theater, which was active for nine years. During those years, she acted in various theater shows produced by other theaters in Tel Aviv.
In 1968 Gary joined “HaBima” as an actress, until 1980. From 1981 through 1990 she was the artistic director
Artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
of the “Orna Porat
Orna Porat
-Biography:Porat was born Irene Klein in Cologne, Germany, in 1924. Her father was a Catholic and her mother a Protestant, but she chose atheism and socialism in her youth. In 1934 her family moved to Porz, where she attended high school...
” Theater.
Gary also adapted Israeli novels to theater. The novels are by the most renowned Israeli novelists: Amos Oz
Amos Oz
Amos Oz is an Israeli writer, novelist, and journalist. He is also a professor of literature at Ben-Gurion University in Be'er Sheva....
, Sami Michael
Sami Michael
Sami Michael is an Israeli author. Since 2001, Michael has been the President of The Association for Civil Rights in Israel .Michael was among the first in Israel to call for the creation of an independent Palestinian state to exist alongside Israel. In his novels Michael writes about the...
, Shulamit Lapid and Tzruya Shalev
Zeruya Shalev
Zeruya Shalev is a bestselling Israeli author.Zeruya Shalev was born on Kibbutz Kinneret. She has an MA in Bible studies and works as a literary editor at Keshet publishing house...
.
Pnina Gary's movie appearances as an actress include: "Dreams" (1969), "Death Has No Friends" (1970), "Ariana" (1971) and the BBC's "A Dinner of Herbs" (1988).
In 2006 she received an award for her life’s work from both the Israeli Ministry of Culture & Education
Ministry of Education (Israel)
The Israeli Ministry of Education is the branch of government charged with overseeing public education institutions in Israel. The political head of the department is the Minster of Education, currently Gideon Sa'ar....
and ASSITEJ
ASSITEJ
ASSITEJ, the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People, was established in 1965 as an international alliance of professionals involved in theatre for children and young people...
.
External links
- An Israeli Love Story at HaniTheater.com
- Love in troubled times, Yocheved Miriam Russo, The Jerusalem Post, April 2, 2010
- Theatre review: An Israeli Love Story @ New End Theatre, Franco Milazzo, Londonist, May 21, 2010
- An Israeli Love Story - New End Theatre, Indie London, 2010
- An Israeli Love Story - New End Theatre, Nina Caplan, Time Out London, May 24, 2010