Thrissur: Palestine, Year Zero by Israeli playwright and director Einat Weizman is the inaugural play of the International Theatre Festival of Kerala (ITFoK) beginning here on Saturday night. Ms Weizman, known for her pro-Palestine stand, had directed two more plays - Shame and Prisoners of the Occupation. “As all the plays have taken a position supporting the Palestine cause in the West Asia conflict, I am living in Tel Aviv by facing death threat every day. As all the theatres in Israel are state-funded, my plays are either banned or not given the nod to perform in Israel,” she said.
According to her the solution for peace in West Bank is neither a Jewish state of Israel nor a Palestine controlled by radical Islamists. “My concept is a common state in the conflict zone, and my plays are an endeavour to establish such a state without violence or atrocities,” she said. She fights for the Palestine cause living in Israel, and she finds it as the most effective. That was the reason for staying in Tel Aviv even after receiving several death threats. “My ancestors had suffered the ire of Nazis, and now I can’t remain a mute spectator of the high handedness of Israel and the sufferings of Palestinians. I always tell my critics that my fight is to buy peace and for Israel,” she said.
